Diamonds form deep underground through extreme heat and pressure and are mined industrially or alluvially from river deposits. De Beers' 1947 marketing campaign popularized diamond engagement rings by convincing consumers that diamonds represent true love and men should spend one month's salary. While De Beers controls supply to maintain high prices and the illusion of scarcity, rebel groups exploit the lucrative diamond trade, forcing civilians into mines and funding conflicts that kill and displace millions. Tracing diamonds is difficult due to smuggling and mixing, but the Kimberley Process aims to curb conflict diamonds despite ongoing issues like violence in Cote D'Ivoire.

1. From Military
Engagements to
Engagement Rings
Tracing The Path of Conflict
Diamonds

2. Just Another Form of Carbon
 Deep below the Earth’s
surface (75-100 miles)
extreme heat and pressure
crystallize carbon atoms
 Diamonds are then carried
to the earth’s surface during
volcanic eruptions

3. Where Are Diamonds Found?
 Diamonds can either
be found through:
 Industrial mining
 Alluvial (river) mining
 Most of the diamond deposits currently mined in
places such as Sierra Leone and Angola are alluvial,
requiring only a shovel, a pan, and hard labor to
mine.

4. “A Diamond is Forever”
 Diamonds Diamond engagement rings were not common until
1947, when De Beers launched its famous “A Diamond Is Forever”
marketing campaign in the United States.
 The goals of the campaign:
 To convince people diamonds are rare
 Diamonds are the way to express true love
 Men should be expected to spend at least 1 month’s salary on an
engagement ring

5. The Illusion of Scarcity
 The price of diamonds depends on the availability.
 If diamonds are considered rare, then diamond prices will remain high.
 If more diamonds are available, prices will drop.
 Companies like De Beers control the supply to keep prices high
 People think diamonds are rare and are willing to pay a lot of
money
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Pre-1870s 1870s Formation of
De Beers
Total # of Diamonds Price Per Diamond

6. Easily Exploitable Resource
 How can diamonds cause
problems?
 The high price of diamonds
has caused rebel groups to
seek control of diamond
mines.
 Rebel groups such as the
RUF force civilians to mine for
diamonds.

7. Diamonds Fund Conflicts
 Rebel groups use the profits from the sale of diamonds to
buy more small arms and supplies.
 In the past decade, millions of people have become refugees
after being forced from their homes by diamond fueled
conflict.
 Millions more have died in diamond related conflicts over the
past decade.

8. Conflict Diamonds Increase Human
Rights Abuses
 Human rights abuses
such as:
 forced labor
 use of child soldiers
 amputation as a
punishment

9. Conflict Free Diamonds?
 Why is it difficult to track diamonds?
 Because diamonds are small and easy to transport, it is difficult to track all
diamonds leaving a given country.
 Smuggling and mixing diamonds from different origins makes
it almost impossible to know if the diamond came from a
conflict area.

10. The American Love Affair With
Diamonds
 The United States is the
largest market for diamond
jewelry, buying up nearly half
of the $56 billion in diamonds
sold last year.
 Would most Americans care
about buying only conflict free
diamonds?
 Would they be willing to pay
more?

11. International Initiative: The Kimberley
Process
 The Kimberley Process is
a voluntary initiative that
requires participants to
certify that shipments of
rough diamonds are
conflict free.

12. The Perfect Solution?
 While the Kimberley Process has not solved the problem of
conflict diamonds, it has reduced the amount of conflict
diamonds sold into the open market.
 Currently, violence funded by conflict diamonds is escalating
in Cote D’Ivoire, proving there are serious loopholes in the
Kimberley Process.
 Recommendations to strengthen the Kimberley Process
include increasing government oversight of the diamond
industry and strengthening government enforcement policies.