BUYING ‘CONFLICT-FREE’ DIAMONDS

Conflict diamonds, or ‘blood diamonds’ as they’re sometimes known, are diamonds that are sold to fund the illegal operations of rebel, military and terrorist groups in war-torn areas, particularly in central and western Africa. The trade in these illicit stones has contributed to devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.
Within the diamond community some South African countries, with a legitimate diamond trade, began a campaign to track the origins of all rough diamonds. Their goal was to stop the sales of stones from conflict areas. Their efforts eventually resulted in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which began in January 2003. The Kimberley Certification Scheme is a joint initiative between governments, industry and civil society to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. It imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’. Participants can only legally trade with other participants who have also met the minimum requirements of the scheme, and international shipments of rough diamonds must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process Certificate to guarantee they’re not blood diamonds.
Kim Bartlett Master Jewellers is proud to say we have implemented the procedures mandated by the World Diamond Council and United Nations to eliminate trade in diamonds by rebel organisations and countries involved with human suffering. We guarantee that all of our diamonds are conflict- free.

Since its introduction the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has evolved into an effective mechanism for stemming the trade in conflict diamonds and is recognised as a unique conflict-prevention instrument to promote peace and security. As of November 2008, the process had 49 members, representing 75 countries. Members of the Kimberley Process now account for approximately 99.8% of the global production of rough diamonds.
Through the participation of its members the Kimberley Process has done more than just stem the flow of conflict diamonds in a very short period of time, it has also helped stabilise fragile countries and supported their development.
As the Kimberley Process has made life harder for criminals, it has brought large volumes of diamonds onto the legal market that would not otherwise have made it there. This has increased the revenues of poor governments and helped them to address their countries’ development challenges. For instance, some $125 million worth of diamonds were legally exported from Sierra Leone in 2006, compared to almost none at the end of the 1990s. That has been the process’s most remarkable contribution to a peaceful world, which should be measured not in terms of carats, but by the effects on people’s lives.