Conflict-Free?
Now that the movie Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has come out, people are starting to challenge the royal significance of the world’s most celebrated gem. Are diamonds really all they’re cracked up to be? Are they as pure as they seem?
Not exactly. A percentage of the stones, known as conflict diamonds, have been the cause of brutal civil wars in Africa, accountable for an estimated 3.7 million lives since the 1990’s. Of course, not all diamonds bear the disgraceful title of a blood diamond; though many have, in fact, funded wars in which innocent people (including children) have been murdered, gruesomely dismembered and mutilated.
In a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Elisa Camahort of BlogHer explained how she had shopped around for her engagement ring until she and her fiancè were able to find a “conflict-free” diamond. (Whereas these rings do not guarantee conflict-free marriages, you won’t feel bad wearing something that means so much if you know it came from a safe, “clean” background.)
I don’t know the origin of my engagement ring; I don’t know the history of its diamond or for that matter, the history of its gold. I’d like to think it is not a conflict diamond, but how can I be sure? Carson Glover, the spokesman for the World Diamond Council says, “If you go to a reputable jeweler, you can be assured you are getting a conflict-free diamond.” But, why wouldn’t he say that? That is the perfect, PR response to the backlash the diamond industry is facing due to the popularity of Hollywood’s newest, sharply political film.
How do I know that statement is true? Furthermore, how can we really be sure of anything we own? We’ve all heard, read and gossiped about which companies use sweatshops, which companies perpetuate slave labor…how do we ever know for sure if the things we buy aren’t products of corruption and violence?
December 13th, 2006 08:24
Diamonds. So overrated. If value is determined by rarity, why are there so many of them. And why does “size matter”? You’re so right about PR. “Reputable jeweler.” An oxymoron? How many “reputable” vs. “refutable.”?
Right again about being “sure of anything.” Wonder if my gasoline comes from a safe, clean background.
December 13th, 2006 17:11
I think diamonds are overrated too, I have an emerald. I hate wearing rings and the like on my hands so even that I do not wear any longer. I am not sure what to do really about where all the junk we buy comes from. Sometimes I look at some of the stuff we have and I wonder what the poor people that made it think about it and us Americans.
PS I tagged you for a meme
December 14th, 2006 06:06
My opinion, diamonds are for suckers anyway. Why not save the cash and get a cubic zirconia, equally as brilliant in the right setting. None will be the wiser, unless you hang out with trained gemologists. :) As for how you know anything is true….you don’t–you just have to have faith in your knowledge and hope that what you have chosen to believe is true.