I.D. Jewelry conflict free diamond guarantee

Since the adoption of KPCS (Kimberley Process Certification Scheme) and law of the Clean Diamond Trade Act, I.D. Jewelry has developed a conflict free diamonds compliance program starting with the revision of our Vendor Code of Conduct to include the Kimberley Process system of warranties.

The revised code requires all I.D. Jewelry vendors to guarantee that the diamonds and diamond-containing jewelry they provide us are conflict-free. Since the implementation of the revised code, we consistently received the following warranty from our vendors supplying diamonds and diamond jewelry:

"The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The undersigned hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict-free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds."

The “System of Warranties”

The ‘System of Warranties’ requires that every time diamonds (rough, polished or in Jewelry) change hands, a seller must affirm on the invoice that the diamonds have been purchased through official channels and therefore not involved in conflict funding. All members of the trade who provide such assurances have promised to keep records of their diamonds’ clean roots (and therefore their clean path to the market).

What exactly is a conflict diamond?

A conflict diamond is any uncut diamond mined in an area (especially in Africa) of armed conflict in war-torn areas that is traded unlawfully to finance the fighting. The United Nations (UN) as defined conflict diamonds as "...diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council." These diamonds are sometimes referred to as "blood diamonds."

The Kimberley Process (KP)

The Kimberley Process (KP) is a joint governments, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of "conflict diamonds – rough diamonds" used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The Process started when southern african diamond-producing states met in Kimberley, South Africa in May 2000, discussing ways to stop the trade of ‘conflict diamonds' and ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments.

To learn more about the Kimberley Process read "the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS)".