Tip of the Week

Buying Diamonds? How to avoid the Bling-Bang Bling-Bling

I just returned from seeing the new film, Blood Diamond. Truth is, like most Americans, I knew very little about the trade in conflict diamonds, so this film was an eye-opener. I'm not a big consumer of gold or diamond jewelry - I have only a few items, my 25 year-old wedding bands and a couple pieces that were passed down years ago from my mother-in-law. But if you lump me in with all American consumers, we're buying up a whole lot of gold and diamonds particularly around the holidays. I'm hoping that thanks to this movie the American consumer's collective conscience will be made more aware of the horrible human toll of these beautiful pieces and be stirred to action.

Associate editor, Emily Main, has just updated a helpful piece for those on the lookout for jewelry this season. There is now a certification program, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), that established standards for exported diamonds from extraction to sale. She acknowledges it is not fail-safe and recommends shoppers choose antique or recycled jewels first. But if they are buying new, don't take the jeweler's word for it, ask to see documented assurance of the jewels' origin to make sure it is one of the the KPCS member countries. Diamond and gold extraction also has its environmental downsides. For more suggestions on conflict-free and environmentally responsible suppliers, I recommend you read "Jewelry: Brightness, Redeemed."

© The Green Guide, 2008

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