Conflict Diamonds

The issue of conflict diamonds emerged in the late 1990’s as a result of reports that the sale of rough diamonds from the African country of Sierra Leone was helping to fund that country’s violent civil war.

In May 2000, southern African diamond producing states met in Kimberly, South Africa, to come up with a way to stop the trade in conflict diamonds and to ensure consumers that the diamonds they purchase have not contributed to violent conflict or human rights abuses in their countries of origin. In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds.

In November 2002, negotiations resulted in the creation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which outlines stringent requirements and controls on all Participants (countries or regional economic organizations) to guard against conflict diamonds entering the legitimate trade.

All large or small mines and individual buyers or sellers are licensed by the authorized government authority and provide security to ensure that no conflict diamonds contaminate the legitimate sources. The rough diamonds are weighed, parcels counted and details of the importer and exporter are recorded on a Certificate. The diamonds and Certificate are then sealed and shipped in tamper-resistant containers to a participating importer who must then verify all information upon receipt. Details of all transactions must be kept by Participants for five years.

The procedures implemented by the Kimberley Process and vigilant international monitoring of Participants are generally considered to have been successful in reducing the sale of rough diamonds from illegal sources. Since its inception, the flow of conflict diamonds into the trade has been reduced from an estimated 4% to less than 0.2%.

At Shelton Jewelers, we buy our diamonds and diamond jewelry from legitimate sightholders and manufacturers who are in full compliance with the Kimberley Process, the United States Clean Diamond Act and the U.S. Patriot Act.