"Diamonds are a girl's best friend." ~ Most of us would remember Marilyn Monroe's version. However, many of us will only realise how blood is related to diamonds through the 'Blood Diamond' movie. Perhaps, most of us think that these scenes from the movie are unreal but this is the whole truth. Please wake up, people!
Blood diamond (also called a converted diamond, conflict diamond, hot diamond or a war diamond) refers to a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity, usually in Africa.
To some fashionistas, this entry is so not related to fashion. However, I thought bloggers in this community should start from ourselves by raising awareness when we want to buy a bling.
In fact, I was contemplating of writing this and the type of trouble that I may invite. Actually, I was trembling in fear when was writing this entry. However, the urge and courage of creating awareness kept me going. What inspired me to write this was watching a documentary relating to blood diamonds (couldnt recall the title; is from History Channel) and this was not the 1st time watching this. Each time, my heart will break coz you will see dead bodies lying on the streets or amputees moving around. This is real and the cause of this is DIAMONDS.
Diamonds are untraceable (According to HRD, it records the origin of a diamond as the country from which the diamond was last exported) once these leave the origin and are easily transferable to various parties. The best mode of payment to financed a war and destroying people's lives as well as their livelihood (including amputating their limbs, etc) is none other than diamonds. These were linked with certain groups of people. Civilians captured in the war were forced to pan the diamonds are not working in the best conditions in the world. The water was usually contaminated (they had to do their 'business' there) and it could lead to diseases spreading. These captured victims were working at gun point. Maybe, many consumers do not realised that these are human lives and families destroyed.
Right now, the situation may be better as there is an introduction of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. However, the biggest weakness of the Kimberly Process is how it is monitored. Any country can become a member of the Kimberley Process by sending a letter to the organization's president, currently, the European Commission. Whether the country meets the standards of the Kimberley Process, it can still become a member.This means that many conflict diamonds are still getting past the Kimberly Certification Scheme because some countries don't meet the requirements of the Kimberley Process.
THIS ENTRY IS NOT TO DISSUADE CONSUMERS TO BUY BLINGS. IT IS TO CREATE AWARENESS OF ASKING FOR A WARRANTY / CERTIFICATION OF SOME FORM WHEN BUYING A BLING TO ENSURE THAT IT IS A CONFLICT-FREE DIAMOND.
Here are some shots from the documentary.
Posts
2 comments:
DCLA has seen an alarming increase in the number of treated diamonds being submitted as natural diamonds to the laboratory for certification.
http://dcladiamondexchange.com.au/
It should first be said that diamond treatments are neither good, nor intrinsically bad in and of themselves. There is nothing wrong with buying a treated diamond, provided that the treatment is fully disclosed and that you pay the appropriate price for the diamond. Because of their lower cost and value, treated diamonds can allow a person to buy a diamond that appears to be of a higher quality than it truly is.
However, too often the presence of such diamond treatments is concealed. Whether this deception is by intent or negligence, such concealment is tantamount to fraud.
Not only does artificially treating a diamond significantly reduce its value, but most diamond treatments are unstable and reversible. For this reason, all internationally accepted rules for diamond grading forbid the certification of treated diamonds. An extremely disturbing discovery just recently in the DCLA Laboratory was that of a coated diamond accompanied by a certificate from a supposedly legitimate Australian ‘laboratory’.
Members of the diamond industry have a responsibility to consumers to convey accurate and transparent information, and each individual that handles a diamond as it moves down the diamond pipeline from the mines should be held accountable for making known any treatments that a diamond has undergone.
It is deceptive and unfair to fail to disclose treatment of a diamond when it has a significant effect on a diamond’s value. In its pursuit of consumer protection, DCLA is offering a ‘Diamond Amnesty’ for diamond owners Australia-wide – any diamond brought in with its matching diamond grading certificate will be verified for grading accuracy and tested to ensure that it is natural and free of treatments. This service will be provided free of charge.
Diamond Intelligence Briefs: http://www.diamondintelligence.com/magazine/magazine.aspx?id=7833
National Jeweler Netork: www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/ys/search/article_display.jsp
Michael, thank you for your additional info coz many consumers are unaware of such things that are happening.
Post a Comment