In recent years, the public’s attention was captured by news of so-called “conflict diamonds.” In simple terms, they were diamonds sold through unofficial channels to finance destructive and tragic civil wars. To combat the problem, some people proposed a “country of origin” report for every diamond that enters the market. Bit is this possible? Diamond researchers tackled this question.
Each diamond carries some traces of its geologic history inside it, in the form of inclusions and other internal characteristics. Unfortunately, it doesn’t also carry its geographic history. While researchers might be able to find some common characteristics of diamonds from a certain area, they cant be sure that all diamonds from that area will have exactly the same characteristics.
As a diamond travels farther into the market, it becomes less and less possible to determine its origin. Manufacturers buy assorted diamonds based on their needs for diamonds of a certain size and clarity, not on the basis of their geographic origin. Those assortments usually contain diamonds from many different places.
The cutting process removes some characteristics of the rough diamond that might have provided a clue to that diamond’s geographic origin. And there’s no data to suggest that polished from a single source retain any characteristics that would connect them to each other and their country of origin. The problem is compounded in a piece of jewelry that contains several diamonds.
Even currently existing advanced lab techniques fall short when it comes to determining origin. Analyses of a diamond’s spectrum (the way it handles light) and chemical composition have shown that there’s no relationship between these characteristics and where a diamond comes from.
Without the possibility of scientific identification, a country of origin” report would only be possible if every diamond came through an “official” source. Each individual diamond would have to be “tagged” as it leaves its mine. And after that, there would have to be total control of that diamond all the way through the cutting and marketing stages.
Such a system would require cooperation from all segments of the diamond trade. And, at best, it could ensure that a diamond came from a particular mine. But it couldn’t ensure that it didn’t also pass through unofficial channels and help to support a bloody conflict.
While this is an important problem, it’s also important to remember that only about 4 percent of the world’s diamonds come from conflict areas, and that the diamond industry is engaged in a unified effort to restrict trade in those diamonds.
