Here is information about the diamond industry, both from the supply side and the demand side.
Amnesty International mini-movie about Conflict Diamonds (flash)
Supply Side
- de Beers cartel: see Salon.com article on the de Beers monopoly and the industry as a whole.
- “Conflict diamonds”, which fund wars in Africa: see the UN’s page and Amnesty International’s take on it.
- Ecological consequences of extraction: the American University on diamond extraction in Liberia.
Demand Side
- Marketing diamonds as putting a price on love: check out de Beers’ spending guidelines. That page also mentions that 83% of brides receive a diamond engagement ring.
- The “largest ring arms race” effect.
- Artificial substitutes exist. See LifeGem, a company which sells high quality diamonds created from the carbon of a loved one.
- Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Accept a Diamond Ring Even If They Really Want to Give You One
- Grist.org’s article on alternatives to a new diamond ring. By the way, Grist.org is a fun environmental newsletter.
Books on the Diamond Industry
- Diamond : A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession by Matthew Hart (Amazon.com link)
- Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic by Kevin Krajick (Amazon.com link)
- Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World’s Most Precious Stones by Greg Campbell (Amazon.com link)
The Co-op Bank’s Diamond Pledge
“I pledge my support for an effective Kimberley Process, including regular, impartial monitoring of all participant countries and for meaningful action by the diamond trade to stamp out conflict diamonds.”
But then… What about gold?