Up until a few months ago, I had never even heard of conflict free diamonds, and now it seems as though I’m hearing about them all the time. They were pretty widely publicized when Pete Wentz proposed to Ashlee Simpson with a conflict free diamond ring, and since then I’ve been hearing about them almost non-stop, either that or I’ve just had my head in the sand for that long. No telling. Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie Blood Diamond has really brought the matter to the attention of the public. In the past, most couples never worried where their diamond came from, but now that is no longer the case. Here are some frequently asked questions about conflict free diamonds in part of a new series I will be doing on couples wanting to have a “green” wedding.
What is a Conflict-Free Diamond?
In some areas of the world, diamond mining is used to finance rebel fighting in places like Sierra Leone, Angola and the Congo. There is an estimate out which states that these smuggled diamonds, also called conflict diamonds, represented as much as 10-15% of the global diamond trade about ten years ago. The idea of people dying over the diamond in your engagement ring is terrible, and many couples want to make sure that the diamond they purchase for their rings doesn’t have such a grim and terrible history. Many changes have been put in place to help couples ensure that their stones are conflict free.
How Can I Tell if the Diamond is Conflict Free?
Tags: conflict free diamond, conflict free diamonds, engagement ring, Green Weddings
