Diamond engagement rings are purchased in their millions over the Christmas period, Christmas appears to be the most popular time for a man to propose to his girlfriend but have you ever bared a thought as to where your precious diamond has come from?
Conflict diamonds also known as blood diamonds have been an on-going issue in the world of politics, the term conflict diamonds refers to the diamonds that have been mined in a war zone area and sold to finance insurgency, this is a huge issue in Africa especially Zimbabwe. Recently the anti-blood diamond advocacy group Global Witness withdrew its support for the Kimberley Process, a conflict-free diamond certification organization that it helped to found. A member of the Global Witness campaign believes that the Kimberley Process has failed to push back diamonds from conflict zones, most recently approving gems from the Marange fields in Zimbabwe, where the diamond trade has allegedly led to widespread human rights abuses. Many individuals purchasing diamond engagement rings or diamond wedding rings will not even contemplate the fact that their diamond could be one of conflict.
The Kimberley Process was established in 2003 after Global Watch research revealed that the international diamond trade fueled human rights violations, including armed conflict and sexual violence, in some African nations. The Kimberley Press requires participating governments to ensure that diamonds are conflict free before trading them internationally. However despite extensive publicity of the blood diamond controversy, few retailers can guarantee that their diamonds are conflict free.
At Mad About Diamonds we carry out the utmost inspections of all of our diamonds to ensure as best we can that they are of the highest quality and not sourced from conflict areas, We only supply certified diamonds from one of the world’s top three Grading Labs: GIA, HRD and IGI thus guaranteeing the absolute quality of your diamond engagement rings.
