Many people around the world do not know about the conflict diamonds in southern parts of Africa or the world's greatest diamond company. Many people believe diamonds to be rare and a precious stone that is worth what people pay for. People believe in the supposed "wedding tradition" when a man is to spend 3 months salary on the engagement ring. These thoughts show how much North Americans know about diamonds. This essay is dedicated to helping people realize the facts behind some of the diamonds sold in the open market. It is also to let people realize what tactics De Beers use to make consumers believe the scarcity of diamonds.

 

The term 'conflict diamond' is commonly used for diamonds that were taken from the ground through alluvial mining and by the use of slavery. Many conflict diamonds come from parts of Africa when rebel groups raided villages to kidnap innocent civilians and have them mine for diamonds. These rebel groups profit with the diamonds that they sell and use the profit to buy more weapons and with the weapons, they raid more villages. It is an on going cycle. However, many people in North America do not realize the facts behind these gleaming stones. Millions have died for these stones and it is still happening right now. So, to reduce the amount of conflict diamonds sold in the open market, the Kimberly Process was created. The Kimberly Process in short is a process to certify all conflict-free diamonds so that consumers have a full understanding of where the diamond comes from and how it was mined. However, this process has its faults because people are finding their ways to create fake copies of the Kimberly Process Certificate. The way I like to see it is that it is a step towards completely stopping conflict diamonds being sold in the open market.

 

Many people believe diamonds are rare. I did too. However, it is not true. It is a misperception created by the world's largest diamond company, De Beers. De Beers practically owns all of the world’s diamond stock and controls the whole diamond process. To make people believe that diamonds are rare, De Beers decided to only let a certain stock of diamonds enter the market each year. This way, by controlling the number of diamonds in the market, they can create people to think that there is only a certain amount of diamonds in stock. The rest of the diamonds are kept in a safe and kept until De Beers decides to let it enter the market. Due to the magnificent power De Beers has over the diamond trade, De Beers is able to buy the diamonds from anyone who wishes to send diamonds into the market. De Beers is so firm on making consumers believe that diamonds are rare because the prices go up. When people believe in the scarcity of diamonds, the prices of diamonds go up and De Beers make more profit.

 

As you can see now, diamonds are not just some pretty stones that represents wealth, power and celebrity. It is a form of business and people are finding cruel ways to get diamonds. An example would be the diamond mines in Africa. So, when the time comes when you are out there, looking for a diamond, consider this. Think about whether you want a conflict-free diamond, think about whether diamonds are truly meaningful or just some useless stones. That is my message to you.