Are All Diamonds Blood Diamonds?

Blood diamonds, also known to some as conflict diamonds or war diamonds are diamonds that were mined in an area where there was a war.  These diamonds were typically sold to finance a war effort in places near Africa from which 60% of the world’s diamonds come.

Many of us wearing these small glowing pieces of carbon, whether it be on a necklace, bracelet, earrings, etc are not even aware of where they originated.  These gems that we so often take for granted were made available to us due to the sweat and sometimes hard labor of miners extracting them from some deep, dark place beneath the Earth. 

What most of us don’t realize, however, is that any diamond can potentially be a blood diamond.  When we purchase a diamond, it is usually for a special occasion like an engagement, anniversary, wedding, etc.  However, what most people don’t know is that when you buy a diamond you have to be quite cautious and be sure that what you are buying is something that is legal and that it is not something that was a result of a war-driven effort that involved murder, rape, mutilations, and the like.

There is a process that was created in Kimberely, Africa that protects the country from diamonds that were mined by people intending on utilizing them to finance certain harsh war efforts.  Today, diamonds that come from Africa are worth billions of dollars but unfortunately they are mined in slave-like conditions whereas the African people have to work on their own land and do not reap any rewards from sale of the diamonds they mine.

Any diamond can be a blood diamond if someone, somewhere was hurt in order for the diamond to be mined or sold.  There have been songs written by rappers about blood diamonds and a movie as well made starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  In some ways make a mockery of how these precious gems got their name; blood diamond, conflict diamond, war diamond.  The real truth is sorely undermined in that the tiny little gems we hold dear to our hearts and are passed down from generation to generation, sometimes have a very sad past.  That is why, truly, any diamond unless you know specifically where it came from, can potentially be a blood diamond.