Is your diamond conflict free?
January 26th 2007 13:10
Diamonds or the diamond industry is not all bad. But, whenever something of great value is found, many people lose their lives because of it, and diamond is no exception.
The recently released movie ‘Blood Diamond’, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, and is set during Sierra Leone’s diamond fuelled civil war, has created a mini public relations crisis for the diamond industry. As per recent media reports A-list celebrities such as Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez are part of a multimillion-dollar campaign by the industry to avert this disaster. Knowles and Lopez agreed to wear jewel-encrusted rings on their right hands at last week’s Golden Globe award ceremony in return for the promise from the diamond industry of $10,000 each donated to the African charity of their choice.
Other Hollywood stalwarts too are being approached to promote diamonds at the Academy Awards next month. And that’s not all, the industry’s campaign - titled ‘Raise Your Right Hand’ - does not stop at the movie industry, the industry also fears that the movie could tarnish the appeal of diamonds among bling wearing hip-hop fans. So De Beers, which has a 40 per cent share of the global diamond market, responded by enlisting the public support of the founder of Def Jam records, Russell Simmons. The movie has also provoked bitterness between the industry and pressure groups, who say the 'Raise Your Right Hand' initiative has distasteful echoes of Sierra Leone’s civil war, during which rebels used amputation to terrorise civilians. Amputation also meant that the people couldn't vote if they did not have a right hand!
The movie has done its part in generating enough awareness about conflict diamonds. Even in India, students from a Mumbai college organised a campaign to make people aware of conflict diamonds and urged them to question the source of the diamonds they buy. Though the diamond industry claims that the trade in conflict diamonds has been reduced from 4% to 1% by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), one can never tell if a diamond bought in the retail market is conflict-free or not. However when we buy the diamond, we can do our part by asking the retailer to confirm if the diamonds have come through the KPCS.
We can help check the trade of conflict diamonds…but for this we must be aware and ask questions.
The recently released movie ‘Blood Diamond’, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, and is set during Sierra Leone’s diamond fuelled civil war, has created a mini public relations crisis for the diamond industry. As per recent media reports A-list celebrities such as Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez are part of a multimillion-dollar campaign by the industry to avert this disaster. Knowles and Lopez agreed to wear jewel-encrusted rings on their right hands at last week’s Golden Globe award ceremony in return for the promise from the diamond industry of $10,000 each donated to the African charity of their choice.
Other Hollywood stalwarts too are being approached to promote diamonds at the Academy Awards next month. And that’s not all, the industry’s campaign - titled ‘Raise Your Right Hand’ - does not stop at the movie industry, the industry also fears that the movie could tarnish the appeal of diamonds among bling wearing hip-hop fans. So De Beers, which has a 40 per cent share of the global diamond market, responded by enlisting the public support of the founder of Def Jam records, Russell Simmons. The movie has also provoked bitterness between the industry and pressure groups, who say the 'Raise Your Right Hand' initiative has distasteful echoes of Sierra Leone’s civil war, during which rebels used amputation to terrorise civilians. Amputation also meant that the people couldn't vote if they did not have a right hand!
The movie has done its part in generating enough awareness about conflict diamonds. Even in India, students from a Mumbai college organised a campaign to make people aware of conflict diamonds and urged them to question the source of the diamonds they buy. Though the diamond industry claims that the trade in conflict diamonds has been reduced from 4% to 1% by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), one can never tell if a diamond bought in the retail market is conflict-free or not. However when we buy the diamond, we can do our part by asking the retailer to confirm if the diamonds have come through the KPCS.
We can help check the trade of conflict diamonds…but for this we must be aware and ask questions.
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