When you buy diamonds, you wish to invest into a brilliant and beautiful stone that has not been obtained through conflicts of any kind. You want to look for the so called ‘ethically mined’ diamonds, which means the stone comes completely free from any type of violence, bloodshed, or child labor. Your diamond should come from an area where the workers/miners are treated with very fair working conditions and get their well-deserved wages for the work provided.

An ethically mined diamond is never associated with forced labor conditions, war financing, abuses of any kind upon people, environmental destructions or acts of political corruption.

Peace of mind

You can get the peace of mind you need if your stone comes with a “Kimberley Process” certification. This is a document that will attest the diamond you purchase is free from any kinds of conflict related issues, and that it has been collected and shipped in the most legitimate way. The Kimberley Process actually started in 2000, when diamond producing states from S. Africa scheduled an important industry meeting in the city of Kimberley. Here, the main focus of discussion was to find ways to put a categorical stop to the trading of the conflict diamonds.

The industry leaders wanted to make sure that by purchasing diamonds nobody would actually finance acts of violence and wars. Therefore, the Kimberley certification scheme is highly regarded on an international level, which ensures the rough diamonds are 100% conflict free. Ask for this certification, whenever you are not sure about the origin of your stone.

Conflict free mining certified companies

If you want to avoid at all costs purchasing conflict diamonds, you should look for retailers that can offer you this guarantee. There are plenty companies renowned for the commercialization of conflict free diamonds coming from countries such as Canada or Namibia & Botswana- two African countries that have done everything possible to keep diamond mining clean and legitimate on all possible levels. Other important countries that produce high quality conflict free diamonds include Australia and Russia. Even online, you can get access to full lists of diamond mining countries that participate in the Kimberley Certification process; so always ask the jeweler about the origin of your stone and ask for solid proof (important documentation).

Invest quality time into research, and go from retailer to retailer to ensure you are truly buying conflict free diamonds. Ethically mined diamonds can be accessed easily; you just need to avoid purchasing through retailers who are not capable of showing you valid proof of origin of their diamonds.