Consumers Are Looking to the Source

RAPAPORT... When it comes to responsible sourcing, says MonicaStephenson, "diamonds are a tricky subject." Stephenson is the founder of AnzaGems, which purchases colored gems directly from East African artisanal minersand gives a portion of its sales back to the mining communities.Of course, there are plenty of ways to ensure responsiblesourcing of natural diamonds. Aside from the Kimberley Process - which has beencriticized in the past, but does provide assurance that diamonds havenon-conflict origins - organizations like the Diamond Development Initiativeare bringing diamonds directly from artisanal and small-scale miners toconsumers in a way that benefits the mining communities. De Beers, through its sightholder system and its Forevermarkbrand, offers additional safeguards. Each Forevermark diamond has a numericalinscription attesting to the responsible sourcing of the gem. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto runs mine-of-origin programs at bothDiavik and Argyle, where the polished is directly traced to the mine and country.Argyle issues an Argyle Pink Diamonds Gem Identification & Authenticitydocument for every diamond over 0.15 carats. As for Canadian diamonds, they comewith Maple Leaf and CanadaMark engravings. However, diamonds do come from many sources, and it requiresa lot of work to determine whether those sources are ethical ones. "You reallywant to look for a vendor with a documented chain of custody from the mine,through the cutting process, to the retailer's hands," says Stephenson. "Thereare companies out there providing this, but they are often not your typicaldiamond dealers. Ask for documentation." In lieu of these options, she recommends that retailers askdesigners and manufacturers where their materials are sourced. "Look fordesigners working with responsible materials so you can represent that jewelryto your customers with confidence," she says. "At some point, it comes down totrust between you and your vendor, and between you and your customers [that youwill] deliver what you are promising." Canadian authenticityToronto-based jewelry designer Shelly Purdy has usedCanadian diamonds exclusively since 2000. "I was excited, because being aCanadian designer, I wanted Canadian content in my work," she says. "I focus ondiamond engagement rings, and using Canadian diamonds was important to me." In doing so, she continues, she has "an authentic Canadianstory to go along with my work. I think it's important to look at theprovenance of a stone. For the diamond industry to become stronger, theconsumer needs to trust us, and we need to make the information available." Lester Oehler, CEO of wholesale manufacturer and designerToby Pomeroy, agrees that Canadian diamonds are the best option today, but saysthere are limitations to the supply. The company's founder, Toby Pomeroy, is apioneer in responsibly sourced gold and platinum. However, determining the provenance of diamonds outside ofCanada has been a greater challenge, Oehler says. "We wish we had nice, easy,clean criteria to draw from, but we don't have that much. We don't do enoughvolume for it to be a huge issue. We just try to find the most traceable wecan." It's important that retailers at least make a sincere effortto show they care how their products are sourced, he stresses. "They shouldhave something in their shop so when the pickiest person comes for somethingwhere the metal or diamond is traceable, you can really tell a story about it.If they know you're making an effort, it makes a big difference." Skeptical on syntheticsOn the subject of lab-grown stones, some, such asStephenson, have been skeptical about their marketing pitch. "Synthetic diamondcompanies have done this marketing job, saying they are the ultimate answer tosustainable engagement rings, but we have to be careful not to eliminate anentire continent as a diamond source [by replacing African mining with synthetics],"she says. "As someone who has been in mining communities, I've seen thebenefits of mining firsthand. We should work on improving artisanal miningconditions, but mining is not inherently bad, and synthetics are notnecessarily the only alternative." She also expresses doubt about the carbon footprint oflab-grown diamonds. Although the companies claim to be "carbon neutral," thatjust means they are funding low-emissions projects to offset their ownemissions, she argues. "And what is the environmental impact of that versus amined diamond?"Image: ForevermarkThis article was first published in a special supplement produced in collaboration with the Diamond Producers Association.