Diamond Ethics

For centuries, diamonds have been regarded as one of the most valuable commodities in the world and the industry has evolved into billions of dollars. At the top, De Beers dominated the entire industry worldwide, from exploration to retail selling. However, it has a reputation of a monopolist, where it influences supply and demand. The two critical factors that De Beers carefully maintained throughout the century to remain in monopoly was to create the illusion of the scarcity of the diamonds and to keep the prices high. Realizing the benefits of the cooperation and the dangers of the oversupply, most

When one is on the other side of the earth, there is only so much information that a person could obtain. This was a great enough reason for the author, Greg Campbell, of "Blood Diamonds" to expose what all eyes are not seeing and what many are blind to in this world. Campbell went out to research the tracks and origins of a very valuable stone known as the diamond. In doing so, he urges to research the origins and life of this precious rock. He goes about researching just exactly how the life of the diamond begins in the jungles of Sierra Leone and ends up in the London on its market. This is what could be said to be the ultimate reason for this book "Blood Diamond”. Evidently, Campbell wanted to expose or let it be known how African

The process of producing the diamonds so they could be sold on the market involved many steps which were illustrated in the movie, Blood Diamond. Smugglers like Archer would supply the RUF with guns. The guns would be used by the RUF to intimidate the people of Sierra Leone into working as laborers for them, we see this with Solomon and his son. These men would be forced to dig in the water mines for hours a day searching for diamonds of all sizes. Then the diamonds are mixed with other diamonds all around the world, mixing the illegal ones with the legal ones; this was explained in the movie by Archer to Maggie. When the diamonds are mixed in with the others, no one can determine for certainty where each originated from. It is then distributed to nations where they are made into necklaces and bracelets, and no questions are asked.

Recently, rapper Kanye West raised the issue of conflict “blood” diamonds in his song “Diamonds” (featuring Jay-Z). Conflict diamonds — diamonds mined and traded by rebel groups — have been the source of murder and mutilation in the small, west-African country of Sierra Leone. In the song, West voices his own inner conflict with diamonds:

This essay will have info based off the story the article Blood Diamonds written by Greg Campbell. I will be giving a brief summary of

Baker explains how the Kimberly Process can be successful and how the process is being abused. Ultimately the process was created to monitor the marketing of diamonds amongst its funding of civil wars, as Baker states, “The Kimberly Process grew out of a 2000 meeting in Kimberly, South Africa, when the world’s major diamond producers and buyers met to address growing concerns, and the threat of a consumer boycott, over the sale of rough, uncut diamonds to fund the brutal civil wars of Angola and Sierra Leone. . .” (Baker 64-65). Every ship carrying rough diamonds are now required to sustain a type of passport, that allows them to internationally trade those diamonds. Although, if they are not able to prove that their diamonds are conflict-free, they could be suspended from international-trade (Baker 65). While Baker displays the beneficial ways the Kimberly Process succeeds, she presents the oppositions claim. The majority of rough diamonds are now smuggled into the Central African Republic, where they are easily issued papers and consequently illegally sold. Also the Kimberly Process does not rally against important principles, Baker discloses that, “Many countries, industry leaders and international organizations—including the U.S.-based World

This essay supports the statement “The price of diamonds is too high”. Diamonds have always been presumed to be rare. They have been present in history as a symbol of wealth and luxury as they were so difficult to find. Nowadays diamonds are mined and are found all over the world but they are sold through a cartel. (Epstein 1982) A cartel limits the supply of a product in order to keep prices high and to limit competition. (South African Pocket Oxford Dictionary: 2002) This raises the question of whether diamonds are actually worth their price. This essay focuses on the origins and the basic theory behind the diamond cartel; the early operation of the cartel; De Beers’ strong market campaign; determining De Beers’ current

It is said that sixty percent of the diamonds on the market are from Africa. How do we know if we have a blood diamond? It is very hard to tell just by looking at the diamond itself, but most jewelry store should have diamonds from the Kimberly process. This process helps to rid the world of blood diamonds by shipping them securely and giving them certificates but some blood diamonds do slip

The story of these infamous diamonds all started with a fifteen year old who found a diamond in his father 's arm. The diamond business started in 1935 when “De Beers” took all control over dining prospects in Sierra Leone. De Beers are a group of companies has a main role in the exploration of diamonds, as well as diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading, and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors.This group was founded in 1888, and they are responsible for the problems Sierra Leone is facing today. These diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes. Diamonds are a pure form of carbon in a transparent state. Diamonds have always been a sign of wealth. Historically kings and queens were known for wearing these. Over time many people began lusting over them.

Two years later here in Kimberley, South Africa, an important meeting was held between representatives of all major diamond producing countries, and they discussed how they could put an end to the blood diamond trade. The result was a protocol establishing the international certificate system for diamond trade—the Kimberley Process. It has 75 member countries today. The organization issues a certificate of origin for every single diamond in the world. A diamond is considered illegal if it lacks this certificate. This was the tool for cleaning out the blood diamonds.” However, the Kimberley Process has not put an end to these conflicts. The system is still flawed in many ways. As critics advise, “The world certification system

This speech serves to persuade the audience that the diamonds business is worth getting into. Thesis statement: Polished and cut diamonds are the most sought after, yet there are a very few diamond cutting firms around the world. I would like to welcome you all to this beautiful country rich in almost all resources, including minerals. Like any other country we have had our full share of ups and downs and I understand that the economy is still on its recovery path since the 2008-2009 recessions but everything is falling in place now.

The film marker is trying to raise awareness of the illicit conflict diamond trade and reinforcing the Kimberley process1 and showing how it will stem the flow of conflict diamonds. This is successful mainly due to the public outburst after the movie. The great impact of the movie has caused diamond

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has large reserves of cobalt, gold, gems, copper, timber, and uranium. However, the most valuable resource that the DRC possess is its large reserve of diamonds. Diamonds essentially serve as a pillar to the DRC’s struggling economy. Plagued by civil unrest, the DRC is desperately trying to stabilize its economy. Their efforts have been met with stiff resistance due to the ongoing civil war and illegal diamond trade. Not only is the DRC losing potential revenue from the illegal mining of diamonds, but also these diamonds are being used to finance the rebel armies. In response, the U.N. has drafted several

Blood diamond are “diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council”. Blood Diamond is a story about the precious gem acquired through blood and sufferings of common people. How much blood is spilt for each pieces of this luxury, how many tears dried into the very ground it is gathered from. Except from the people that are involved in the whole process of stealing or smuggling a nation’s natural wealth. Sierra Leone, where the storyline takes place, gets nothing. Its people are suffering through extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy and diseases. Adding insult to injury, there is a fast emerging brutal terrorist group called RUF, destroying the system, collapsing government, killing innocents and taking children as soldiers. Making sure the country never progress and prosper or never grow the backbone to stand on its feet ever to use the valuable diamonds it holds on the ground. For example, when the illegal and unethical blood diamond trade was brought to light, it was ignored by the most potentially influential global players because of economic interest. What resulted was that the situation snowballed over the duration that it has occurred over and when the issue finally came to a head

3. Description of the IMF Project to Help Africa Crack Down on Illicit Diamond Trade