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Buy A Conflict Free Diamond |
By:
Arsene Bergkampe |
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Buy A Conflict Free Diamond
Arsene Bergkampe
Choosing a diamond for your engagement ring, wedding ring or any other special event is always a happy occasion. But have you ever thought about where those diamonds come from? Most diamonds in the world today have a bloody past, so it's a good idea to think about conflict free diamonds.
The world's diamonds today come from Africa with few exceptions. These diamonds are mined in many of the countries here - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola are just a few of the names. However, the diamonds from here are often called conflict diamonds, as their profits go to aid warmongers.
All of the world has known about the blood diamond problem for years, and the United Nations has instituted several policies to try to stop the proliferation of conflict diamonds, without success. The latest has been the Kimberley Process in 2002, which seeks to screen diamonds for the open market.
The Kimberley Process is not all that the world hoped, and unfortunately some of these conflict, or blood, diamonds still get through to jewelers throughout the world. In 2007 alone, over 10 million US dollars worth of these diamonds made it through the screeners' hands and into jewelers' cases.
You won't be able to tell a conflict diamond by eye - they don't look any different than any other diamond in quality or clarity, so don't count on visuals to be able to tell if your diamond was mined during a conflict. You can only be sure to get a conflict free diamond from certain sources.
Some jewelers only work with conflict free diamonds. These are special diamonds, usually mined in Canada instead of being mined in Africa like most diamonds. Only a few jewelers work with these rarer diamonds, and they are quite a bit more expensive than average diamonds are.
You could also buy estate jewelry. While not guaranteed to be conflict free - most of the diamonds in these pieces were mined before these conflicts and wars started, meaning they were not part of the blood for money trade that diamonds today are involved in. This way can be more economical.
Conflict free diamonds are a great way of being kind to the world. If you buy fair trade coffee and are into green living, you should also care about where your diamonds come from. Making sure you buy diamonds that will not profit war is a great step in the right direction of a better world.
Arsne Bergkampe is with JewelryStoresforYou.com - a directory of http://www.jewelrystoresforyou.com/ jewelry stores around the country.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article65324.html |
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