gemstones a brief ppt slideshow about the precious stones, some details, then we move to deal with the diamond section, the wars, the blood diamond. etc...

1. GemstonesGemstones
A gemstone or gem (also called a fine
gem, jewel, or a precious or semi-precious
stone) is a piece of mineral crystal, which, in cut
and polished form, is used to make jewelry or
other adornments.

2. A selection of gemstone pebbles made by
tumbling rough rock with abrasive grit, in a
rotating drum. The biggest pebble here is 40
mm long (1.6 inches).

3. GemstonesGemstones
Any non-metallic mineral or other natural
material (e.g., amber, jet, pearl) that can be cut
and polished for use in jewelry and related
products.
Mineral gemstonesMineral gemstones include: sapphire, ruby,
diamond, emerald, topaz, turquoise and opal
http://pubs.usgs.gov/

4. With the exception of diamonds, most
gemstones are highly valued because of their:
BeautyBeauty
RarityRarity
TraditionTradition
Perception of permanencePerception of permanence
Why are some gems so expensive?Why are some gems so expensive?

5. http://www.biblegateway.com/
Aaron’s Ceremonial BreastplateAaron’s Ceremonial Breastplate
"Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the
ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square—a
span long and a span wide—and folded double. Then mount four rows of precious stones on it […]
Mount them in gold filigree settings. There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the
sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. (Exodus 28)

6. New International
Version
New American Standard King James Young’s Literal
Translation
Contemporary English
Version
New Living Translation
ruby ruby sardius sardius carnelian red carnelian
topaz topaz topaz topaz chrysolite pale-green peridot
beryl emerald carbuncle carbuncle emerald emerald
turquoise turquoise emerald emerald turquoise turquoise
sapphire sapphire sapphire sapphire sapphire blue lapis lazuli
emerald diamond diamond diamond diamond white moonstone
jacinth jacinth ligure opal jacinth orange jacinth
agate agate agate agate agate agate
chrysolite beryl beryl beryl beryl blue-green beryl
amethyst amethyst amethyst amethyst amethyst purple amethyst
onyx onyx onyx onyx onyx onyx
jasper jasper jasper jasper jasper jasper
http://www.biblegateway.com/

7. Original Publication Date: 1913
Claimed that the twelve stones on
Aaron’s breastplate symbolized the 12
months of the year, not the 12 tribes.
The Hebrew calendar contains either 12
or 13 months in a year.
The Curious Lore of The Curious Lore of
Precious StonesPrecious Stones

8. http://www.thaigem.com/
January garnet rose quartzSiO2February
amethyst onyx
SiO2
March
aquamarine bloodstoneSiO2

9. http://www.thaigem.com/
June
alexandrite moonstone
April
diamond rock crystalSiO2
May
emerald chrysopraseSiO2

10. http://www.thaigem.com/
October
opal tourmaline
November
topaz citrine
December
zircontanzanite
SiO2

11. Annual Worldwide Natural Diamond
Production
Mining
114 million carats raw diamonds
~ $7,000,000,000
All phases of production, distribution, and retail
2,000,000 workers
67,000,000 pieces of diamond jewelry
http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.com/

12. http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.com/
Region Value ($1,000) Market Share
AfricaAfrica 5,354,9105,354,910 68.2%68.2%
EuropeEurope
(Russia)(Russia) 1,595,0001,595,000 20.3%20.3%
North AmericaNorth America
(Canada)(Canada)
453,555453,555
5.8%5.8%
AustraliaAustralia 360,600360,600 4.6%4.6%
South AmericaSouth America 76,45076,450 1.0%1.0%
AsiaAsia
(China)(China) 16,48016,480 0.2%0.2%
TOTAL 7,856,995 100.0%
Botswana 27.0%
Angola 16.9%
South Africa 14.1%
Dem. Rep. Congo 7.4%
Namibia 5.3%
Guinea 1.3%
Sierra Leone 1.1%
Central African Rep. 0.9%
Tanzania 0.6%
Liberia 0.3%
Ivory Coast 0.3%
Ghana 0.2%
Lesotho 0.1%
Venezuela 0.6%
Guyana 0.0%
Brazil 0.4%

13. Diamonds would be moderately expensive for the same
reasons other gemstones are (beauty, rarity, tradition,
etc.)
However, the price of diamonds is artificially high due to
the blatant and highly successful manipulation of the
world’s largest diamond conglomerate: DeBeers.
The company maintains a virtual monopoly on jewel-
quality diamonds, controlling the supply to keep the price
high.
The company also has a series of highly successful
marketing campaigns (e.g., “a diamond is forever”) to
keep demand high.
Why are some diamonds so expensive?Why are some diamonds so expensive?
Summary of the SettlementSummary of the Settlement
De Beers is the largest supplier of rough diamonds in the world. Beginning in 2001, Plaintiffs
in several states filed lawsuits against De Beers in state and federal courts alleging that De
Beers unlawfully monopolized the supply of diamonds, conspired to fix, raise, and control
diamond prices, and issued false and misleading advertising. De Beers denies it violated the
law or did anything wrong.
The Settlement Agreement provides that $22.5 Million be distributed to the Direct Purchaser
Class, and that $272.5 Million will be distributed to the Indirect Purchaser Class. De Beers
also agrees to refrain from engaging in certain conduct that violates federal and state
antitrust laws and submit to the jurisdiction of the Court to enforce the Settlement.
Claims must have been filed before May 19th
, 2008.
https://diamondsclassaction.com/

14. http://www.adiamondisforever.com/
“A Diamond is Forever”

15. http://www.adiamondisforever.com/
Right “Right Hand Ring”
Advertising Campaign
“Your left hand rocks
the cradle. Your right
hand rules the world.”
“Your left hand says ‘we’
Your right hand says ‘me’”

16. Besides their questionable business practices, DeBeers:
DeBeers and Injustice in AfricaDeBeers and Injustice in Africa
Officially “rejected” apartheid in South Africa, but exploited
the system to the benefit of the company (although not the
workers).
Continued to engage in apartheid practices at its South
African mines long after the apartheid government fell.
Supported the forced removal of the Basarwa people from
their traditional lands in Botswana, virtually ensuring the
destruction of their culture.
http://www.playahata.com/pages/eyecalone/blingbling.html

17. http://archiviofoto.blog.excite.it/img/BRITAINBOT.jpg
http://www.survival-international.org/
http://www.zambezi.co.uk/
“The Government was justified in removing
the Basarwa [‘Bushmen'] from the
Reserve... It is sensible of Government to
take such action. Otherwise who would
always want to remain in the Dark Ages
while others move forward?”
Louis Nchindo, Managing Director, Debswana
(De Beers's Botswana subsidiary).

18. http://archiviofoto.blog.excite.it/img/BRITAINBOT.jpg
http://www.zambezi.co.uk/
Update: 1/7/08
After years of international boycotts and protests, DeBeers
sold its mining operations in Botswana to Gem Diamonds.
The new owners have vowed to treat the Bushmen as equal
partners and seek their legal consent before any further
development.
In 2006, the Botswana High Court ruled that the Bushmen
could return to their ancestral lands. However, the
Botswana government has denied the Bushmen everything
they need to live in the Kalahari (hunting rights, access to
water, herding rights).
http://www.survival-international.org/tribes/bushmen

19. The diamond trade has also supported both war and terrorismThe diamond trade has also supported both war and terrorism
Conflict DiamondsConflict Diamonds
Bankrolled some of most vicious civil wars
in Africa over the last few decades.
Was and perhaps still is used by al-Qaeda
groups to raise and move funds.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/

20. BotswanaBotswana
AngolaAngola South AfricaSouth Africa
Dem. Rep. CongoDem. Rep. Congo
NamibiaNamibia
GuineaGuinea
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone
Central African Rep.Central African Rep.
TanzaniaTanzaniaLiberiaLiberia
Ivory CoastIvory Coast
GhanaGhana LesothoLesotho
African Diamond Producing CountriesAfrican Diamond Producing Countries

21. First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996)
(over 200,000 killed)
Guinea-Bissau Civil War (1998-1999)
Lesotho Intervention (1998)
Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana
First Congo War (1996-1997)
Dem. Rep. Congo, Rwanda, Uganda
(over 200,000 civilian killed)
Great War of Africa (1998-2003)
Dem. Rep. Congo, Zimbabwe, Angola,
Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, Chad, Libya,
Sudan, Burundi (5,400,000 deaths)
Angolan Civil War (1975-2002)
(over 500,000 military casualties)
Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002)
(~75,000 dead)
Wars in African Diamond-Producing Nations Since 1990
Second Liberian Civil War (1999-2003)
(~150,00 killed)
Ivory Coast Civil War (2002-2007)

22. http://www.msu.edu/course/pls/461/stein/refugees.htmhttp://www.msu.edu/course/pls/461/stein/refugees.htm
Patients at a clinic in
Freetown. Their hands
were chopped off by
rebels (RUF) in the
Sierra Leone Civil War.

23. http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sierra/index.htm#http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sierra/index.htm#
Human Rights Abuses by RUF (Sierra Leone rebel group)
Massacres, Individual Murders, and Fire-Related Deaths
Burning Alive
The Use of Games to Maximize Terror
Mutilation and Amputation
Rape and Sexual Assault
Abduction
Targeting of Particular Groups
The Use of Civilians as Human Shields
The Use of Drugs by the RUF and Forced Drugging of Civilians
Treatment of Prisoners
Violations of Medical Neutrality
Human Rights Watch, 1999. Getting Away with Murder, Mutilation, Rape: New Testimony from Sierra Leone 11: 3(A).

24. http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sierra/index.htm#
Human Rights Abuses by RUF (Sierra Leone rebel group)
“Some of the atrocities committed by the RUF rebels were unthinkable. Infants and children
were thrown into burning houses, the hands of toddlers as young as two were severed with
machetes, girls as young as eight were sexually abused, and hundreds of children of all
ages were traumatically separated from their communities and forced to walk into the hills
with strangers whom they had seen kill their family members.
In some cases children, many of them originally abductees, participated in
the perpetration of these abuses. Child combatants armed with pistols,
rifles, and machetes actively participated in killings and massacres, severed
the arms of other children, and beat and humiliated men old enough to be
their grandfathers. Often under the influence of drugs, they were known
and feared for their impetuosity, lack of control, and brutality.
Human Rights Watch, 1999. Getting Away with Murder, Mutilation, Rape: New Testimony from Sierra Leone 11: 3(A).

25. Photo: ©UNICEF / Giacomo Pirozzi
http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no3/153chil2.htm
UNICEF estimates there
were 5,400 child soldiers in
the RUF, but the number
could have been as high as
10,000 or more
Many former RUF child
soldiers are currently being
recruited for wars in other
western African nations (e.g.,
Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea).
Human Rights Watch, 2005. Youth, Poverty and Blood: The
Lethal Legacy of West Africa’s Regional Warriors 17:5(A).

26. For a Few Dollars MoreFor a Few Dollars More
Global Witness, April, 2003
http://www.globalwitness.org
100 page report on how terrorist
groups Hezbullah and al Qaeda used
diamonds to support their activities,
including:
1. Fundraising
2. Avoiding financial sanctions
3. Money laundering
4. Transport of funds
Report also addresses al Qaeda’s use of
other commodities like gold and the
gemstone tanzanite

27. For a Few Dollars MoreFor a Few Dollars More
August 7, 1998 - 10:30 a.m.
Simultaneous bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania, killing 224 and injuring 4,500. An FBI investigation
blamed many members of al Qaeda, including terrorists
connected to several companies involved in the diamond trade.
http://www.globalwitness.orghttp://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/10/20/embassy.bombings.01/

28. For a Few Dollars MoreFor a Few Dollars More
After August 7, 1998
Al Qaeda diamond
operatives flee Tanzania,
taking their experience in
the diamond trade to their
new homes in West Africa
- particularly Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
http://www.globalwitness.org

29. For a Few Dollars MoreFor a Few Dollars More
Al QaedaAl Qaeda
RUFRUF Diamond TradeDiamond Trade
http://www.globalwitness.org

30. Charles TaylorCharles Taylor
Former president of Liberia,
currently being tried in the Special
Court for Sierra Leone at the
Hague for war crimes (8/21/08)
http://www.globalwitness.org
http://afp.google.com/

31. For a Few Dollars MoreFor a Few Dollars More
Estimates of the amount of money raised for al Qaedaal Qaeda by the diamond
trade vary, ranging somewhere in the tens of millions of dollars. After
the 9/11 attacks, all parties in the diamonds-for-arms dealing in Sierra
Leone and Liberia claimed they did not know they were dealing with al
Qaeda operatives.
http://www.globalwitness.org

32. “In order to fully combat the scourge of conflict diamonds, on November 5, 2002,
fifty-two governments ratified and adopted the final Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme [… and …] have agreed that they will only allow for the
import and export of rough diamonds if those rough diamonds come from or are
being exported to another Kimberley Process participant.
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requires that each shipment of
rough diamonds being exported and crossing an international border be
transported in a tamper-resistant container and accompanied by a government-
validated Kimberley Process Certificate. Each certificate should be resistant to
forgery, uniquely numbered and include data describing the shipment’s content.”
World Diamond Council, 2002. The Essential Guide to Implementing The Kimberley Process. PDF: http://www.worlddiamondcouncil.com/
Angola, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, People’s Republic of China,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Gabon,
Ghana, Guinea, India, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lesotho, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia,
Norway, Philippines, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, South Africa,
Swaziland, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States of AmericaUnited States of America
and Zimbabwe (12/20/02)
The Kimberley ProcessThe Kimberley Process
http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/

33. 27% of shops were able assure us that they had a policy on conflict diamonds.
30% of the shops that said they had a policy were unable to produce a hard
copy or explain it.
13% of shops provided warranties to their customers as a standard practice.
37% of the shops claimed to be aware of the conflict diamonds issue, but 54%
of them reported an inaccurate definition of the crisis.
28% of the shops were aware of the Kimberley Process.
29% of those who were aware of the Kimberley Process had only a minimal or
limited understanding of it.
When asked whether consumers inquired about conflict diamonds, 83% of
respondents answered rarely or never.
110 shops refused outright to take the survey.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/action_update.html
National Day of Action on Conflict Diamonds
September 18, 2004
Amnesty International surveyed 246 stores in 50 U.S. cities:Amnesty International surveyed 246 stores in 50 U.S. cities:

34. 12/20/06
The release of the movie “Blood
Diamond” prompted DeBeers (through
their major trade organization) to launch
an extensive website lauding the
diamond industry as a force for good in
the undeveloped world:
http://www.diamondfacts.org/
Among other questionable statements, it
includes the fact that approximately one
million people are employed by the diamond
industry in India. What it doesn’t report is
that up to 10% of those workers are children
(12-13 years old), and many of those are
“bonded” – a polite word for children sold
into slavery.
http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=61

35. http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/549/en/global_witness_amnesty_international_uk_diamond_re
The majority of the top-selling US retail jewelers that provided information to Global
Witness and Amnesty International do not have adequate policies in place to
combat blood diamonds. A survey, conducted by Global Witness and Amnesty
International between December 2006 and February 2007, queried the 37 jewelry
retailers listed collectively by National Jeweler magazine as The $100 Million
Supersellers on their policies to stop the trade in blood diamonds.
56% of respondents had no auditing procedures to combat blood diamonds.56% of respondents had no auditing procedures to combat blood diamonds.
57% of respondents had no policy posted on their websites.57% of respondents had no policy posted on their websites.
50% of these huge retailers did not respond at all.50% of these huge retailers did not respond at all.
The survey also noted that a few industry leaders such as Helzberg Diamond
Shops, Sterling (Signet) and Tiffany & Co. have taken stronger measures to
combat conflict diamonds.
Conflict DiamondsConflict Diamonds
US jewelry retailers still not doing enoughUS jewelry retailers still not doing enough
Published February, 2007