From Military Engagements to Engagement Rings Tracing The Path of Conflict Diamonds

Overview What are diamonds? Why are diamonds valuable? How does diamond mining contribute to conflicts? How does international consumption contribute to diamond mining?

What are diamonds? Formed miles below the earth’s surface: heat and pressure Concentrated in Africa (about 50%) Hundreds of millions of years old

The Origin of the Diamond Mystique First mined in India; earliest written reference is from 4 th century BCE Became popular among European royalty starting in the 13 th century Extremely rare until about 1870, when huge diamond deposits are discovered in South Africa

De Beers and the Marketing of Diamonds 1870s: huge diamond deposits discovered in South Africa (a British colony) Cecil Rhodes buys diamond fields and creates De Beers Mining De Beers rapidly takes over nearly all diamond mines in South Africa

Marketing diamonds: manufacturing scarcity Goods are expensive if they are scarce – i.e., the supply is limited Diamonds aren’t actually scarce – so De Beers acted to create scarcity Enabled by its monopoly over diamond supply, De Beers restricted the flow of diamonds onto the market, enabling it to keep prices high

Marketing diamonds: maintaining a monopoly De Beers aggressively moved to win a monopoly – i.e., almost total control – over almost every source of diamonds on the world market When new sources of diamonds are found, De Beers buys up the right to control diamonds from those sources Maintaining a monopoly allows De Beers to control how many diamonds are sold in a year, keeping prices high

Marketing diamonds: creating demand De Beers also aggressively markets diamonds “A Diamond is Forever” – 1947 marketing campaign Diamond engagement rings – popularized by the end of the 1950s

So what are conflict diamonds? Thanks to these tactics, selling diamonds is extremely profitable In some African countries – Angola, Congo, Sierra Leone – rebels illegally mine diamonds and sell them to pay for weapons

How do conflict diamonds fuel war? Impact on fighting: sold for funds that allow wars to continue Impact on civilians: thousands of ordinary people are used as slaves to mine diamonds

Conflict Free Diamonds? Small and easy to transport = difficult to track Conflict diamonds mixed with conflict-free diamonds Almost impossible to know the true origins of a diamond

The Kimberley Process