Ethical jewelry from Brian Gavin Diamonds
Every bride wants an engagement ring that says something significant about who she is. For an ethically minded bride, that means choosing conflict free diamonds.
Blood diamonds: a history
The term "blood diamonds" comes from the historical civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia that ended only a few years ago. In 1980, William Tolbert was overthrown by Sergeant Samuel Doe after riots over food prices reached a peak. As the decade wore on, instability and economic collapse led to civil war. Rebels eventually fractured and began fighting one another until a peace agreement was signed in 1995 and Charles Taylor was made president.
However, the peace didn't last. Anti-government skirmishes broke out in 1999 in northern parts of the country. Ghana, Nigeria and other neighboring countries began to accuse Taylor of supporting rebels in Sierra Leone. In 2003, Taylor stepped down after international and internal pressures to quit reached a climax.
Over the course of the fighting, rebels pulled diamonds out of rivers to use to trade for weapons. Blood diamonds are the jewels traders purchased and sold later in stores across the world. Approximately 250,000 people were killed during the civil wars, and many more fled. The amount of human loss got the attention of the world.
The Kimberly Process
Now, diamond purchasers are far more aware of the origins of their jewels. In fact, only 0.2 percent of today's global supply are blood diamonds, according to CNN. The problem consumers face is that they cannot always be sure of where the diamond is coming from. In 2000, diamond-producing states in South Africa met in Kimberly to develop a grading system. Later that same year, the U.N. General Assembly joined the efforts. Negotiations between governments, the international diamond industry and civil society organizations in November of 2002 led to the creation of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. Members are required to go through strict processes to ensure exported diamonds are conflict free and to prevent conflict diamonds from entering legitimate trade. They must also maintain transparency with their trade.
Ethical practices
As a socially responsible company, Brian Gavin Diamonds guarantees that they do not deal in conflict diamonds. They adhere to the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme and World Diamond Council System of Warranties to ensure that their customers receive a lifetime jewelry piece that they can be proud to wear.The Brian Gavin team provides full disclosure on the materials they use to create their artwork. Customers can be certain they're purchasing ethical jewelry by choosing Brian Gavin Diamonds.
