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Angela Godden
7th August 2010 12:16

Conflict diamonds

 

With Blood Diamonds once again in the press, it is important for us to consider our policies on sourcing stones. This is a matter that we take very seriously, particularly, as many of our customers are buying bespoke engagement rings and wedding rings.

First some background on diamonds; most are mined in parts of Africa, Canada, Russia and Australia. Conflict diamonds, also referred to as 'blood diamonds' or 'war diamonds', are diamonds that originate from areas in Africa such as Sierra Leone and Angola which were controlled by forces or factions, and also corrupt governments, responsible for fuelling conflict and wars. Small scale diamond mining was exploited and these diamonds were often used to fund military action by the forces, action that has resulted in the loss of an estimated 3.7 million lives in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In order to remove the threat of diamonds being used in this way, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was created by the United Nations in 2002 and the scheme originates from a meeting of South African diamond producing states in 2000 in the town of Kimberley, the capital of the Northern Cape in South Africa. The scheme was designed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering legitimate jewellery supply chains. Around 47 countries now adhere to the Kimberley Process including all member countries of the European Union. In order to participate in the scheme countries must ensure that every diamond export be accompanied by a Kimberley Process certificate proving that any diamond originating from the country does not finance a rebel group or other faction seeking to overthrow a UN-recognised government. The country must also ensure that no diamonds are imported to or exported from a country or state that is not a member of the Kimberly Process scheme. Under the Kimberley Process, any country which is part of the scheme must ensure that any diamond mining is strictly supervised and that diamonds in their rough and un-cut and polished state can only be transferred between participating countries in tamper-proof containers and with proper documentation. The United Kingdom is a participant of the Kimberly Process and therefore it is very unlikely that any conflict diamonds have found there way into the United Kingdom since the process came into force back in 2002.

Whilst the scheme does much to reduce the threat, here at Harriet Kelsall we like to go further and as we source our own stones we know exactly where our stones come from and can be sure that our stones are conflict free, unlike many other jewellers.

Additionally we have joined the 'Council of Responsible Jewellery Practices' so we can guarantee that our stones are conflict free and as a company we have written procedures in place to make sure we only buy diamonds from suppliers who give us a warranty on their invoices that they don't buy conflict diamonds. We can also provide a copy of our procedures if customers would like to see them, providing added reassurance.

Clearly we feel passionate about this as a company and Harriet has a really deep interest in making sure all the stones in our bespoke rings are ethically sourced.

Angela Godden
 

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  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, North Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, Hertfordshire, SG4 7DP, England
    Phone: +44 (0)1462 790565 Fax: +44 (0)1462 790140 enquiries@hkjewellery.co.uk
  • Harriet Kelsall Jewellery Design, 6/7 Green Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 3JU, England.
    Phone: +44 (0)1223 461333 Fax: +44 (0)1223 365269 cambridge@hkjewellery.co.uk

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