I'm shopping for a diamond ring, but I don't want to buy a diamond
from Africa because of all the misery and oppression associated with
the diamond industry there.  I know some diamonds come from other
places, such as Canada and Russia.  However, in my experience,
jewelers generally have no idea where the diamonds they are selling
originated.  How and where can I buy diamonds that are guaranteed not
to be from Africa?

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 03 Feb 2004 12:56 PST

Have you considered purchasing a Canadian diamond? Canada has a
voluntary code for authenticating claims of national origin:

http://www.canadiandiamondcodeofconduct.ca/html/EN_home.htm

---

Clarification of Question by mickeylt-ga on 03 Feb 2004 15:51 PST

I have considered buying a Canadian diamond (that would be the perfect
solution, actually), but I don't know where to get one.  I've asked
jewelers where their diamonds come from, and they always say they
don't know.  I did find one website that sells Canadian diamonds, but
(a) all their diamonds were the same size and cut, and (b) I'm
hesitant to buy a diamond on the Internet.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 03 Feb 2004 15:59 PST

If you don't want to buy online, can you give us some idea of where
you are located? Possibly a Researcher can find a jeweler in your area
who offers some documentation on the source of the diamonds being
offered.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 03 Feb 2004 16:06 PST

You might want to consider "created diamonds" or some of the
higher-quality diamond substitutes such as Moissanite.

Here's an excellent answer by my colleague jackburton-ga on the subject:

http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=202347

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Clarification of Question by mickeylt-ga on 04 Feb 2004 09:42 PST

A jeweler in my area (Northern California or New York) who can
document the source of their diamonds would be ideal.

As for the created diamond and diamond substitute options, I've
considered them, but I've decided I want to go with a real, natural
diamond.

---

Request for Question Clarification by peggy_bill-ga on 04 Feb 2004 14:51 PST

Dear Mickeylt, 

I have found a diamond exchange that is an exclusive dealer and
importer of Canadian diamonds.  Each diamond they sell comes with a
gemprint issued by the Canadian Government attesting to their country
of origin.  Their web page lists the name and address of a store in
New York.

Will that do for an answer?

Peggy bill
--Google Researcher--

---

Clarification of Question by mickeylt-ga on 05 Feb 2004 11:03 PST

peggy_bill-ga -

I think that will do as an answer.  If there's a store in New York
that sells Canadian diamonds, that may solve my problem.  And it
doesn't seem like anyone's coming up with anything else!

Dear Mickeylt,

I found the following website for Ice Store; Australia, a diamond
distributor that specializes in Canadian diamonds.  They say these
Canadian Diamonds are the only diamonds in the world to come with a
certificate of authenticity guaranteeing their country of origin.  You
can find them at

http://www.icestore.com.au/Canadia.htm


They also say that you can view their diamonds online or at their
stores in Melbourne and LA.  However, they also have the address of a
New York dealer.

Their store in New York
New York
245 Park Avenue
39th Floor
New York, 10167 USA
TeL: 1 866 339 9988


If you have any problems with this, please let me know.  I hope this
works out for you.

Good luck,
Peggy bill
---Google Researcher--


Keyword search:
new york diamond dealer 'country of origin'  
://www.google.com/search?q=new+york+diamond+dealer+%27country+of+origin%27++&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N

Thanks!

A U.S. diamond source:
http://www.offbeattravel.com/crater.html

Famous for its pink diamonds, Argyle Diamond mine in Northern
Australia might be worth a look...

http://www.argylediamonds.com.au/

Cheers,
araminty-ga

Dear Mickeylt,
This si a good question. I lived in Botswana during 2001-2002, which
is a diamond-rich country with a growing economy, an increasingly
prosperous population and a healthy and stable multiparty democracy.
This rather unique African country has prospered well precisely
because of its post-independence discovery of diamonds and its
government's responsible management of this resource. There is
definitely no case of blood for diamonds in Botswana. This does not
mean, however, that if you buy diamonds in Botswana, or claimed to be
from Botswana, as with anywhere else, or any other diamonds in the
world, that you will buy 'peace-diamonds' because the problem is in
identification of the stone itself and in international laws and
practices relating to authenticity of the stones. My understanding is,
and I followed this issue closely for the two years I lived in
Botswana, that the problem is twofold:
1. There is no reliable way to tell the country of origin of a diamond
by analysing the stone itself. That means that once it is out of the
ground, the diamond is not unique to its geographic location.
2. Since the issue of 'blood for diamonds' has become a concern in the
diamond buying population, and certificates of authenticity
guaranteeing the diamond's country of origin have become desirable, an
illicit trade in these certificates has also developed. You will find
an article that raises this problem at
<http://webnetarts.com/socialjustice/diamonds.html>
So it seems to me that there is no way you can be certain of the
origin of any diamond unless you actually dig it out of the ground
yourself. Given the tight security around diamond mines and diamond
processing plants in stable countries such as Botswana and Australia
(where I live), and the military presence in other diamond-rich
countries, I can't imagine that you can manage to do this.
This raises the broader issues about world citizenship and the need
for all of us to work towards creating a better world, to eradicate
the poverty that breeds war, and your very real concern about not
wanting to wear a stone that might represent a missing limb, or an
orpaned child in a poor, war-torn country.
I hope this helps to answer your question so that you can make an
informed decision.
With kind regards, Tanya.