Diamonds for Blood?

[SummerChild]

A friend was telling me that the movie Blood Diamond is about child labor in Africa - in the diamond mines. Apparently the illegally procured diamonds via child labor are mixed in with the legally procured diamonds - so we don't know what is what when we buy diamonds here in the U.S. and other places in the U.S.

Given that, would any of you resist diamonds?

What can be done about the plight in the diamond mines. Does anyone have more information about this situation?

Does anyone have info about being able to tell which diamonds might not be procured through illegal child labor? Is it truly impossible to know?

SC

[jon1856]

Your friend sort of gave you some poor information.
Check out the following links for information on/about Blood Diamonds AKA conflict diamonds:

A blood diamond (also called a conflict diamond or a war diamond) is a diamond mined in a war zone and sold, usually clandestinely, in order to finance an insurgent or invading army's war efforts. [1] [2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_diamond
http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html
http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1776141.htm
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...-diamonds.html
http://www.stopblooddiamonds.org/

And diamonds are no where near as rare as the owners of the mines and the rest of the industry
would like us to believe. Supply is kept short by storing supplies in vaults.
You can check that out on your own.

[RedefinedDiva]

Originally Posted by jon1856

Your friend sort of gave you some poor information.

From the one sentence that she provided, what information from her friend is "poor?"

[abaici]

Originally Posted by jon1856

And diamonds are no where near as rare as the owners of the mines and the rest of the industry
would like us to believe. Supply is kept short by storing supplies in vaults.
You can check that out on your own.

True. One thing I especially hate is that people are acting like horrible practices in the diamond industry is something new. This industry has always maintained poor labor practices, deceptive marketing practices, etc.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by abaici

True. One thing I especially hate is that people are acting like horrible practices in the diamond industry is something new. This industry has always maintained poor labor practices, deceptive marketing practices, etc.

And this is just one of their web sites to show the rose side of things:
http://www.diamondfacts.com/

[SummerChild]

So given the horrible conditions out of which some diamonds come and the apparent inability for the Kimberley process to provide fullproof certification (as if anything is foolproof), will you continue to purchase diamonds? Will you ask if the retailer can prove that the diamonds are conflict free?

As for me. I would definitely want anyone thinking of buying me any kind of diamonds to ask. I wish that I knew about this back in 99/00 when I started buying most of my jewelry. In the future, I will definitely try to find out if the diamonds are conflict free. Shoot, it's a good thing that I love many other stones - like aquamarine, pink sapphires, blue tourmaline, tanzalite, etc. as well.

SC

[Obsession8]

Originally Posted by SummerChild

So given the horrible conditions out of which some diamonds come and the apparent inability for the Kimberley process to provide fullproof certification (as if anything is foolproof), will you continue to purchase diamonds? Will you ask if the retailer can prove that the diamonds are conflict free?

As for me. I would definitely want anyone thinking of buying me any kind of diamonds to ask. I wish that I knew about this back in 99/00 when I started buying most of my jewelry. In the future, I will definitely try to find out if the diamonds are conflict free. Shoot, it's a good thing that I love many other stones - like aquamarine, pink sapphires, blue tourmaline, etc. as well.

SC

I'm with ya, soror. I'd want to be a very informed consumer. In all honesty, though, I prefer jewelry with my birthstone (sapphire).

[Lady of Pearl]

No, cubic zirconia is an alternative for me, also I am not that partial to gold as a previous boyfriend enlightened me about the political incorrectness of wearing it also

[jubilance1922]

I have been against mined diamonds for several years now. As a chemist, I always advocate the use of lab-made diamonds, which are engineered to be flawless and come in many different colors. They also are 1/10th of the price of a mined diamond. If you're looking for alternative stones, that's definitely one way to go.

[pinkies up]

I agree with jubilance. I watched a news story the other day about lab created diamonds. They have the same chemical compositions as mined diamonds, but are less expensive. They are not CZ's, because from what I understand, CZ's do not have the same chemical compositions as diamonds. When I upgrade my ring, this is the way I'll be going.

[jubilance1922]

Originally Posted by pinkies up

I agree with jubilance. I watched a news story the other day about lab created diamonds. They have the same chemical compositions as mined diamonds, but are less expensive. They are not CZ's, because from what I understand, CZ's do not have the same chemical compositions as diamonds. When I upgrade my ring, this is the way I'll be going.

You are correct. Diamonds are simply carbon which undergoes extreme pressure. CZ is a completely different element.

[mulattogyrl]

Originally Posted by pinkies up

I agree with jubilance. I watched a news story the other day about lab created diamonds. They have the same chemical compositions as mined diamonds, but are less expensive. They are not CZ's, because from what I understand, CZ's do not have the same chemical compositions as diamonds. When I upgrade my ring, this is the way I'll be going.

That's interesting. I didn't know that.

[SummerChild]

So Jubilance, are these lab-created diamonds typically identified when one goes into the jewelry store? Are they pretty widely distributed? I'm just wondering if I've bought a lab-created diamond w/out even knowing it.

Also, this may seem like a weird question but, although it is the same chemical composition, is it technically a "fake" according to gemstone standards or is it considered as genuine as those from the mines? Do you know whether the determination of whether it's genuine is based on origin or composition?

Originally Posted by jubilance1922

I have been against mined diamonds for several years now. As a chemist, I always advocate the use of lab-made diamonds, which are engineered to be flawless and come in many different colors. They also are 1/10th of the price of a mined diamond. If you're looking for alternative stones, that's definitely one way to go.

[SKEEphistAKAte]

I remember back when the big deal was Nike and their inhumane labor practices during their manufacturing process. Now it's diamonds. Honestly I haven't looked much into this issue. Not sure if I'm ready to give up the "real" diamonds though. ~shrugs~

[James]

Ahhh . . . I suppose that men should stop buying women diamonds and diamond engagement rings to stop supporting these exploitational practices.

It would be almost like a public service not to buy diamonds. I wonder how well that would go over in conversation . .