Ethical diamonds
Since ancient times, we – human beings – have loved and cherished diamonds. We love them for their beauty, their stories, and the symbolism we see in them. But our love for them cannot erase the fact that for many years, the diamond industry has been anything but ethical. And for that reason, at RoughDiamonds.dk we offer only carefully selected ethical diamonds.
In this entry, we’ll walk you through the measures we take to ensure that the diamonds we use in our work are exclusively ethical diamonds. Read on to learn more about what we do to help cultivate a more transparent, sustainable, and ethical diamond jewellery industry.
Conflict free diamonds: the Kimberley Process has done much – but there’s still work to be done
You may be familiar with the term ‘blood diamonds’ – or, as they are called officially, ‘conflict diamonds’.
Conflict diamonds are defined as rough diamonds which are used to finance wars against governments. In an effort to stop the production of conflict diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established by a United Nations resolution in 2003.
The KPCS unites governments, civil society, and the wider industry around the world with the goal of eradicating the flow of conflict diamonds from the global supply chain. Under the KPCS, States implement safeguards on shipments of rough diamonds and certify them as ‘conflict free’.
The KPCS has done much to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. However, the diamond industry is fraught with complications, and a diamond being certified as ‘conflict free’ does not necessarily make that diamond ethical.
The flaws in the scheme: why the Kimberley Process is no guarantee for ethical diamonds
There are two main flaws in the Kimberley Process. Firstly, its terms of certification are narrow: they focus solely on the mining and distribution of conflict diamonds. This means that other, broader issues surrounding human rights and social and environmental practices are not addressed.
And secondly, a Kimberley Process certificate applies to a batch of rough diamonds shipped around the world – not to an individual stone. This means that it’s almost impossible to trace the individual diamonds back to where they were sourced from.
That’s why, when selecting gemstones for RoughDiamonds.dk, designer and founder Maya Bjørnsten goes beyond the industry standards set by the KPCS. This way, she ensures that we exclusively offer ethical diamonds in our work.
From mine to ring: our guarantee of ethical diamonds
Despite its flaws, the Kimberley Process plays an important role in cultivating a more ethical diamond industry. Therefore, all the rough diamonds used in our one-of-a-kind pieces have been purchased in accordance with the Kimberley Process. This ensures that our diamonds are not used to fund any conflicts or wars against governments across the world, and that they are traded in agreement with UN resolutions.
Much more importantly, however, is that our rough diamond supplier is a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council: the leading standards authority in the global jewellery industry. The RJC works with members worldwide to create a sustainable supply chain, making great efforts to cultivate ethical diamond trade.
This means that all our rough diamonds have been traded in accordance with human rights as well as social and environmental practices. Further, every ethical diamond in our collection can be traced directly from the mine to the diamond market in Antwerp, Belgium – all the way to our rough diamond rings.
There is no child labour at the mines where our diamonds are sourced. The workers have fair wages and working conditions, and the diamonds are mined with great attention to limiting the environmental impact of the process.
This is what we do to cultivate a sustainable, transparent, and ethical diamond jewellery industry.
As Maya Bjørnsten says: ‘We have always loved diamonds. At RoughDiamonds.dk, we will always work to make sure that we can continue loving them – and that’s why we only use ethical diamonds. We want to share the positive stories of the diamonds we use and highlight the importance of choosing only ethical diamonds. We can only get answers by asking questions; and we want to do what we can to contribute to a responsible and ethical use of diamonds in fine jewellery.’
We love diamonds – and we always work to ensure that we can love them with a clear conscience
Now that you know the importance of cultivating a transparent fine jewellery industry, we hope we’ve inspired you to choose your next diamond the way nature intended it: uncut, unpolished, and – most importantly – ethical.
If you’re interested in learning more about our rough diamonds, you can find more information about the types of diamonds we offer here.
To keep up with our work, visit our Facebook and Instagram pages and let yourself be inspired by the beauty of natural diamonds in their uncut, unpolished form.