Are Diamonds a Girl's Best Friend?

You know the saying, ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’, but if you are trying to maintain an ethical wedding, the choosing of your wedding jewellery can be fraught with complications. On the market there are many so called ‘blood diamonds’ or ‘conflict diamonds’ available. Finding ethical jewellery is the best way to avoid inadvertently supporting this trade.

Although there have been moves made to wipe out the trade of conflict diamonds, they are still very wide spread. The definition published by the United Nations is as follows:
‘…diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognised governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, are in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council.’

In 2002 the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was launched.  It aims to wipe out the trade in these diamonds, but participation in the scheme is voluntary and not all mines have conformed.  They are also not monitored leaving the scheme open to abuse.  It is a long road to find a complete solution - but all is not lost.

There are suppliers of ethical diamonds out there who are dedicated to supporting the ethical factors of their jewellery. However it is also down to the consumers to demand that their jewellery and engagement rings are made with ethical diamonds.  Many customers may be blissfully unaware of the issues surrounding diamond mining, and it is only with increased exposure that the ethics of this industry will be fully appreciated by all consumers.

If you are looking for beautiful, ethical jewellery then speak to us at Ingle and Rhode.