Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Why Its Important to Avoid Blood Diamonds in Engagement Rings ...

Why its important to avoid blood diamonds in Calgary engagement rings is a popular topic. Kimberly Process (KP) strains under recent events while public awareness grows. What follows can be taken as a reminder. The reminder says that purchasers of jewelry can make choices.

Diamonds mined in the heart of darkness, the reasoning goes, requires making slaves of conscripts and children. The end, it is said, justifies the means. The means are means of production, in this case. Perhaps one day those infernal gods of colonialism will get barred permanently from offering this reasoning during political squabbles over precious gems. Meanwhile, the world community wisely spurns diamonds mined during military conflicts.

Canadian government and others are known to have taken steps to encourage humane ways to gather these gemstones. These governments have a heritage of working alongside the industry especially on topics revolving around so called blood diamonds. A report from a Canadian government official, in 2002, sparked UN action. The resulting certification process still gets used today. The eventual goal intends to persuade all nations to adopt humane means of production.

Jewelry

People must be made aware of alternatives to so called war diamonds. Canada produces diamonds. Pink ones are available in Australia. Synthetic diamonds are manufactured with current science. People should still buy them if they want, but should buy from a credible organization that can certify these gems are conflict free.

One of several drawbacks to trusting in a certification is the near impossibility of certifying that any diamond is conflict free. This means that most buyers cannot know with absolute certainty that they own a conflict free diamond. Fear not newlyweds. Buyers of Calgary engagement rings can still ask jewelers for conflict free certification.

Some people are too afraid to ask certification questions. They do not want to seem rude or pushy. A slick way to not sound rude would be to ask jewelry a question like this: I know some scientists say it takes millions of years for this diamond to form. Will you show me a card or document that certifies a date that it got pulled out of the ground? If the date falls in the 1980s or earlier then it might not be a blood diamond. The KP certification only covers those valuable rocks mined in year 1990 and afterwards. So if it does not have KP certification then people can use date mined as an indicator that their stone might not be a blood diamond.

News

There have been recent reports since summer of 2010 that war diamonds are reentering the markets. Some observers feel that continuance of KP is being tested. The KP committee does not stand alone in their fight to influence trade. Consumers of jewelry can influence trade. KP group has an easier time enforcing regulations when consumers refuse to buy war diamonds.

Concerned people have renewed calls for United Nations to further restrict production. Reasons stated include those problems with blood diamonds have not disappeared. Fair trade certification process is legitimate and lawful. Several governments and diamond producers in member countries formally accepted this need for restraint of unfair labor practices.

Larger Issue Is Slavery

The larger issue should not be lost. Should our world community buy products whose labor input is supplied by slaves? History texts overflow with accusations of exploitative production practices. Sugar production in Brazil serves as one example. Cotton production in colonial America. Rubber production in Belgium Congo. Presently accused industries include the diamond and cocoa industries in Africa, and the toy industry in China.

History is also filled with examples of our world community negotiating with industries and providing what industries need to profitably transition to humane production methods. Look at this example KP group provides. Diamond producers and distributors are allowed to voluntarily join KP certification scheme. A coalition of governmental and non governmental parties enforces regulations on its group members. Individual members have a sort of veto power over provisions they find too strenuous.

By: Adriana Noton

Source: http://www.libertyinconnecticut.com/shopping-and-product-reviews/why-its-important-to-avoid-blood-diamonds-in-engagement-rings

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