Peace Diamonds

A letter from Larry Read regarding Peace Diamonds.

"Peace diamonds" and "blood diamonds" are phrases that have become very common, not only in the jewelry industry, but in day-to-day life.

The first phrase, "peace diamonds," refers to 99 percent of all mined diamonds. The phrase was originally coined by Patrick Mazimhaka in the Wall Street Journal Europe Business News in a September 15th, 2006, article. The article stated, "Africa's diamonds have had a positive impact on the economic development of key producer countries, notably Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania." The article argued, "…to blame diamonds […] for fueling conflict misses the point that plenty of good can be accomplished with earnings from natural resources." In reference to Botswana, the article stated that, "The per capita GDP has increased from $70 in 1966, to $11,400 today. This increase has everything to do with the productive combination of diamonds, governance and sound leadership."

The phrase "blood diamonds," on the other hand, refers to a movie set during 1999 that focuses on the then four percent of all African-mined rough diamonds. The diamonds that the movie focused on are also known as conflict diamonds, and were sold to finance wars by rebel groups against legitimate African governments. The violence and human suffering associated with this small number of diamonds, is despicable and universally condemned by the jewelry industry.

It is currently estimated that illicit trade in diamonds has been reduced to less than two-tenths of one percent of all diamonds. Although this is still unacceptable, efforts are still underway to eliminate illicit diamond trading completely.

As the owner of Lee Read Jewelers, I first became aware of the conflict diamond issue in the August of 2000. Lee Read Jewelers took an active role in doing everything we could to stop the manufacturing, distribution and sale of conflict diamonds. Around the same time, I presented this issue to the Continental Buying Group, the world's largest independent jewelry-buying organization, of which Lee Read Jewelers is a member. We were the first to alert the CBG of the conflict diamond problem.

In July of 2001, legislation was introduced to the United States Senate and House of Representatives to eliminate trade of conflict diamonds. Lee Read Jewelers contacted all our congressional delegates to ask their support. In 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law House Bill 1584 "The Clean Diamond Trade Act."

Lee Read Jewelers does not buy diamonds from unknown individuals that come into our store. We carefully source all of our diamonds, and only purchase diamonds from well-established firms that actively support what is currently known as the Kimberley Process.

The Kimberley Process is an initiative that was adopted in 2003 to control and account for clean diamonds. Currently, the United Nations, as well as 74 countries, including all of Europe's member states as one individual participant, has ratified the Kimberley Process. All the participating countries are involved in producing, cutting and selling finished diamonds. Starting in sealed, tamper-proof boxes, the diamonds are carefully recorded and transported to various cutting centers around the world. Each step of the manufacturing and distribution process is carefully documented until the diamonds arrive at their final destination -- the retailer. Every invoice carries a guarantee from the manufacturer that it is in compliance with the Kimberley Process and sells only clean, conflict-free diamonds.

Most importantly, you can rest assured that your Lee Read Diamond is a peace diamond and not a conflict diamond. Lee Read Jewelers is still doing everything we can to support peace diamonds, so you can celebrate your life's most important moments with diamonds that have had a positive impact from start to finish. Please feel free to visit Lee Read Jewelers or contact us if you have any questions or comments about peace diamonds. We also encourage you to visit www.diamondfacts.org and www.globalwitness.com for more information about this topic.