Conflict Free

 Lab diamonds or moissanite are "Conflict Free" stones!    

CONFLICT FREE  -  Have you ever heard of the KIMBERLY PROCESS?   

** I stand by the Kimberly Process "believing" that the proper procedures are handled correctly via other countries & the United States, etc.   

Let me explain.

I ENCOURAGE ANYONE TO RESEARCH THIS TOPIC FOR THEIR PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.   MOST PEOPLE DON'T THINK ABOUT THIS PAR & WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE CURTAIN.   ​ If you want to know more exactly where diamonds come from.... (without kids) watch the movie Blood Diamond.  It’s the concept and explains more on how a diamond is brought from other countries to the USA.   Please ignore some of the bad language and what goes on in the movie.  It’s sad!  With the Kimberly Process monitored by government and/or this group of people, we are supposed to trust them 100% that the raw material(s) from the suppliers will come with a certificate stating they are conflict free from the ‘other’ countries before entering into the USA.... it’s hard to trust anyone.  

THIS EXPLAINS WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY....  

From a jeweler based in London, he states: 

“The Kimberley Process is a 'perfect cover story' for blood diamonds. We need a new system to force the jewelry industry to promote ethical mining and gem trading techniques.  Blood diamonds, and the harrowing stories behind them, entered public consciousness more than a decade ago. But while attitudes towards how gems are sourced have shifted, in practice little has changed in the jewelry industry. The very system set up to eradicate the trade in conflict diamonds is now giving the industry a perfect cover story, as it continues to operate in the same opaque way it always has.  The Kimberley Process is a certification scheme established in 2003 by a United Nations resolution, following a series of reports which first exposed the link between the diamond trade and the financing of conflict.  
The process has two main flaws. First, its narrow terms of certification focus solely on the mining and distribution of conflict diamonds, meaning that broader issues around worker exploitation - the health and safety of working conditions, the use of child labor and fair pay – are not addressed.  It also fails to deal with entire populations being evicted from their ancestral homes to make way for mining.  Second, a Kimberley Process certificate does not apply to an individual stone but to a batch of rough diamonds which are then cut and shipped around the world. Without a tracking system, this is where the trail ends.  If a consumer went into almost any jeweler in the UK and asked for the origin of a diamond on display, staff would most be most unlikely to be able confirm which country, let alone the mine, it was sourced from. (This goes for USA as well).  

The Kimberley Process has failed on its own terms: corruption and smuggling are rife, and in the past few years, the system has begun to unravel further from the inside.  Global Witness, one of the first organizations to report the link between the mineral industry and conflict, was an official observer to the process at its outset. But the organization walked away several years ago after the scheme authorized exports from two companies operating in the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean army seized control of the area in 2008, reportedly killing about 200 miners in the process. Meanwhile, the departure of Ian Smillie, of Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), in 2009 was quickly followed by the resignation of Martin Rappaport, a leading figure behind the process's formation. For him, the deciding factor was the abundance of diamonds on the market that had been sourced from the Marange diamond fields, the same region which prompted Global Witness to walk away.  Combine these withdrawals and you have a system propped up by the very people that profit from the industry maintaining its status quo. The Kimberley Process provides a convenient smokescreen.”  

BREAK DOWN:  

VIOLENCE - Even though many brutal civil wars have now ended, violence in diamond mines remains a serious problem. Many diamonds are still stained by severe human rights abuses such as forced labor, beatings, torture, and murder.  

LABOR - Many of the world's diamonds are harvested using practices that exploit workers, children, and communities. A million diamond diggers in Africa earn less than a dollar a day, causing widespread poverty and community suffering. Artisanal miners work in highly unsafe conditions, often without training, safety equipment, or proper tools.  

ENVIRONMENT - Due to poor planning and weak regulation, diamond mining has caused environmental devastation, severely damaging the land and water. This irresponsible mining has caused soil erosion and deforestation, and has forced local communities to relocate. In extreme cases, diamond mining can cause entire ecosystems to collapse.  

FLAWS IN THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS - The Kimberley Process claims to have solved the problem of conflict diamonds, but it systematically ignores human rights abuses, worker exploitation, and environmental degradation. It does not require diamonds to be traced to their mine of origin, allowing smuggled diamonds to obtain "conflict free" certification and enter world markets.  Jewelers that offer “conflict free” diamonds are limiting themselves to the Kimberley Process’s definition, which narrowly defines conflict diamonds as diamonds that finance rebel movements against recognized governments.  What this definition leaves out is large numbers of diamonds that are tainted by violence, human rights abuses, poverty, environmental degradation, and other issues.  

Thoughts: A CERTIFICATE FROM THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS DOES NOT APPLY TO ONE PARTICULAR STONE, BUT TO A COLLECTION OF ROUGH DIAMONDS WHICH ARE THEN CUT AND SHIPPED ALL OVER THE WORLD, LEAVING OPEN THE POSSIBLY OF SMUGGLING CONFLICT DIAMONDS BY HIDING THEM AROUND THOSE THAT ARE CERTIFIABLY CONFLICT-FREE.   Most consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds come from nor whether they are financing armed violence or trafficking.   The Kimberley Process is allowing conflict diamonds into the market.  If your jeweler can't tell you where your diamond was mined, they can't guarantee it's conflict-free.  ​ 

THIS IS ANOTHER REASON WHY I STAND BY LAB CREATED STONES.  

I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY & I CAN WEAR MY JEWELRY KNOWINGLY IT WAS MADE HERE IN THE USA.