Hello there
This answer is based on the second acceptable answer to your question:
"2) information on how/where to buy natural diamonds that didn't come
from a DeBeers mine."
If I am reading your question properly, it seems a sense of 'ethics'
lies behind it as much as price or whether the stone is man made or
natural. I also feel you would like to get the best possible in the
way of quality for price. I agree that African mined stones carry a
lot of political baggage and a surprising amount of baggage caused by
human suffering through mistreatment and death of miners, the
unethical holding hostage of host governments by outside concerns and
other practices which give a moral cloud of uncertainty to the most
brilliant of African stones. Too many of these stones are "conflict
diamonds," or diamonds that fuel conflicts in Africa and terrorism
elsewhere.
However, there is another source of fine diamonds which is
unfortunately unknown to large numbers of diamond buyers, especially
to those who are looking for conflict and bloodshed free stones.
The diamonds of Canada.
Since in your question you stated "online" would be acceptable, it
might be the best way to go. The reason being, I feel you would want
to be certain your stone was a Canadian Certified gem rather than one
being "passed off" as a Canadian stone by some who may be less than
scrupulous. As of now, there is only one sanctioned dealer in the US
for stones from the diamond mine of Canada, EKATI. These online
merchants also let you where in Canada the stone was mined and some
are even direct mine outlets. I am mentioning that because there are
also diamond sellers in Canada who advertise "ethically mined" stones,
yet later on their website they also admit to purchasing from
international brokers. These sites may very well be legit, but it is
just something you might want to look for if you decide to purchase a
Canadian diamond.
I will provide a small list of dealers who are in the category of
marketing certified, mine identified Canadian stones.. I have no
commercial relationship with any of them and offer no recommendations.
However, it will give you a place to begin your ring shopping. I
have seen Canadian stones. They are beautiful.
http://www.elegantjewellery.com/AboutCanadianDiamonds.asp - "Elegant
Jewellery.com - This companies stones are mined and cut in the
Northwest Territories and carry certification. They explain how their
stones are certified and identified. They ship to the US and to the
UK. Overnight shipping on orders of more than $200.
http://www.diamonds.ca/igloodiamonds.htm - "Igloo Diamonds" - This
company specializes in loose stones you can have mounted as you wish.
They also have a page explaining why it is good to buy your Canadian
diamond loose, including the following two important items - - "Its
mining had been subjected to rigorous environmental impact studies and
a bond had been posted to guaranty removal of all environmental
damage, if any, during or after termination of mining, All employed
manpower benefits from Canada's high Labour Standards,..."
http://www.aurias.com/en/index.shtml - This is the website of AURIAS
Diamonds. You can learn the history of the discovery and mining of
Canadian diamonds. While they do not sell directly, you can find a
listing of certified and trusted dealers. So far, the only one in the
US is in San Francisco. AURIAS diamonds are a product of EKATI mine
in the Northwest Territories.
You may be interested to know that diamond mining in Canada did not
begin until 1998. It is an amazing story. You will find it here:
http://www.nature.ca/discover/treasures/trsite_e/trmineral/tr3/tr3amaze.html
As for Apollo diamonds - - - "The Apollo process begins with a seed
diamond, about one-tenth of a carrot. It's placed in a vacuum where
carbon gas is added, atom by atom. Those atoms stick to the surface of
the seed and grow into a diamond. Apollo said that the gemstones are
as pure in composition as the purest mined diamonds." - quote from
theBakersfieldchannel.com - - - The Apollo diamond may be beautiful,
but the seed diamond has to come from someplace and African production
mines are the major source for such seeds and other small stones. I'm
not saying that the seeds "are" from there, but unless it was
demonstrated otherwise, it would seem logical that at least some of
the seed diamonds are from African or DeBeers sources.
Search - Google
Terms - non conflict diamonds, canadian diamonds, and remembering a
news story I heard on CNN several months ago.
Websites used are included in the answer.
If I may clarify anything, please ask.
Cheers
digsalot |
