Alrosa Urges Promotion of Stones' Russian Origin

RAPAPORT... Alrosa has encouraged its long-term clients to disclose theRussian origin of diamonds they buy from the miner. The company has urged its Alrosa Alliance members - clients thathaved a rough-buying contract with the miner - to be open about where they get their diamonds from when selling them on to others. This includes "highlighting the exclusively Russian,natural and non-conflict origin of these goods," the miner said. The company is asking members for full transparency infuture transactions involving its stones, including written acknowledgement of the diamonds' origin insales agreements or invoices.The new recommendations form part of the Alrosa Alliance Guidelines on Responsible Business Practices, which the company released last week.  "The establishment of a responsible diamond supply chainfrom mine to retail is an important element in ensuring transparency of thediamond industry as a whole," the miner said. "Responsible supplychain is based on the principle of unconditional disclosure of information on [a diamond's] conflict-free source and quality characteristics...at everystage of change of ownership, with the aim of promoting consumer confidence indiamonds." Additionally, the miner has adopted the new internationalDiamond Terminology Guideline issued by nine industry bodies, including theWorld Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC)and the Diamond Producers Association (DPA). The instructions clarify proper industrywording, including the use of "diamond" in reference only to natural stones,and "synthetic" or "laboratory-grown" when referring to man-made gems. The miner has encouraged its clients to follow the same principles when talking about Alrosa diamonds.