Jewelers Squeamish Over Blood Diamond - Bling industry bracing for backlash over Hounsou film

Saturday, July 31, 2010

The U.S. jewelry industry is reportedly nervous and looking over its shoulder for the arrival of the upcoming film "The Blood Diamond," which tells how diamond smuggling in Sierra Leone was at the center of brutal civil wars.

Peggy Jo Donahue, public affairs director of trade group Jewelers of America, explains to Reuters: "The danger is that people will think the situation in the film is continuing today. We're going to educate our jewelers about the issue. There's lots that's not understood."


“The Blood Diamond” stars Djimon Hounsou as a farmer in Sierra Leone, and Leonardo DiCaprio as a South African mercenary jailed for smuggling. The term “blood diamond,” or “conflict diamond,” refers to a diamond mined in a war zone and sold on the black market in order to fund a rebel or clandestine army.

Rebel groups in countries including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia have used billions of dollars from the sale of diamonds to fund wars. And some non-governmental organizations have even alleged that blood diamonds were used to finance the Sept. 11th attacks.


A new web site on diamonds is being set up to answer queries from consumers. Meanwhile, the Kimberley Process, an international certification program set up in 2000, says the vast majority of the world's rough diamond trade is now under its strict controls.

Its chairman, Kago Mashashane of Botswana, wrote earlier this year to the producers of "The Blood Diamond" asking that it include an epilogue explaining the measures taken to stem the illicit trade.

He said Botswana, the world's biggest producer of diamonds, was worried that a consumer boycott could damage its efforts to boost education and healthcare since the diamond sector accounted for around half of government revenue.

The Council for Responsible Jewelry Practices hopes to set up a certification program for gold and diamonds within a couple of years from the mine to the consumer.

In the diamond sector, the U.S. jewelry industry has a voluntary system of warranties that try to ensure that only gems from the Kimberley Process are used in products, Donahue added.

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