Are all PS Vendors Conflict-Free?

[kenny]

With the movie, "Blood Diamonds" soon to be released the subject of the Kimberly Process is heating up.

How do we know the diamonds we buy from PS vendors are "Conflict Free"?

Should there be (or is there) some certification/verification process?

I'd feel better if all the vendors gave us their word that their stock is conflict-free.

And is the Kimberly Process 100% bullet proof? (Pardon the pun.)

 

[salmon]

Kenny,


I don''t think most vendors will be able to gurantee conflict free diamonds. However, you should contact the vendor, and see what they have to say. I do know Tiffany''s diamonds are conflict free and they actually gurantee your purchase is CONFLICT FREE. Tiffany seems to be a very green company in regards to social justice issues. In regards to the Kimberly process, it''s a crock of !&@^#(, in my opinion. I was in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast during the heart of diamond conflicts with Doctors Without Borders, I lost a lot of friends, and I can say for me, on the GROUND, THE KIMBERLY Process IS SHORT OF JUSTICE. By the way, most people don''t realize that an awful lot of blood diamond money funds terroism. Most of the merchants on the ground are Lebanese and send MONEY BACK TO Hezbollah. However, not everyone considers Hezbollah a Terroist group.There is a an old thread around here about conflict diamonds, do a search, and I''m sure you''ll find it. The topic can get pretty heated, due to obvious reasons. Good luck to you.

 

[oldminer]

Diamonds and money just go together. The Kimberly Process is one tool, but has not cured war, violence, poverty and unfairness. It can''t. You can buy a Canadian origin diamond knowing where it came from if you want to be sure.

What you can''t be sure of is how the money you spend gets spent later on. You can''t control the evntual destination or the flow of funds. Money finances unfairness and evil as well as financing aid programs and medical assistance. It isn''t money that is evil, but simply the nature of homo sapiens, it seems contains a very evil and dark character. We often control these dark impulses, but you can see where people, left to their own destiny, do whatever they need to do to survive or to lord over the less powerful.

I think you can find many sellers quite aware of Kimberly Process. They can give you reasonable assurance of origin based on the facts they have been given. Few sellers are at the site of the mine where the diamond actually came from. Its a long road to the eventual end-user.

 

[momof3]

The two methods I have heard are the best avenues to purchasing are: you can buy canadian diamonds and/or buy antique instead of new...(i believe Tiffany goes the canadian route)

good luck!

 

[denverappraiser]

“Conflict Free” is a surprisingly complicated issue. As mentioned by Salmon above, this has been discussed in several previous threads. Use the search box near the top of the page to find related discussions for 'conflict', 'blood', and 'Canadian'. I also wrote an article on this general topic in the journal section here.

To answer your questions:

How do we know the diamonds we buy from PS vendors are "Conflict Free"?
Ask them. All diamonds legally imported into the United States since 2003 must be Kimberly compliant, which is what most people mean when they use the term “conflict free”. The dealers here can easily provide you with a stone that is more recent than that if you request it but they may also have stones that predate that law or that have come from the secondary, trade-in’s, antiques and other sources that don’t involve importing the goods and therefore can’t come with that particular assurance.
Should there be (or is there) some certification/verification process?
Yes, there should. Yes there is. See www.kimberleyprocess.com and http://www.iti.gov.nt.ca/diamond/index.htm for two popular systems.
I'd feel better if all the vendors gave us their word that their stock is conflict-free.
Me too. Many have. Others aren’t unable to make this guarantee on their entire inventory for the reasons above.
And is the Kimberly Process 100% bullet proof? (Pardon the pun.)
No. Kimberley claims 99.8%, their opponents claim 98% (www.globalwitness.com are among their most outspoken critics). Either way, there’s work to be done to make it better.Note: I"m reasonably certain that the Tiffany guarantee is based on Kimberley certification through their suppliers although they do have investments in Canadian diamond mining as well. They do not limit their sales to exclusively Canadian products.


Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[pricescope]

Great post Neil as well as your links to previous ones, here is another link http://diamondfacts.org/ and let's call it a day.
There is no need to go in circles just because Hollywood spat ou...oops produced yet another movie.