Author: Steven Benson

The World Diamond Council’s new System of Warranties (SoW) has entered the beta-testing phase, comprising a soft launch of the process, with the participation of a representative sample of companies from across the diamond supply chain.

For clarification purposes a footprint refers to distinct physical characteristics that make up the particular profile of the rough diamonds mined at a specific geographic location. They are the result of both chemical and geophysical processes that occurred naturally at the site over sometimes millions of years, affecting diamonds from the same deposits in common ways.

Given our country’s history, conditions have been difficult for ordinary Black South Africans. With a democracy that is only 26 years young, plus the problems of high youth unemployment and national inequality, the odds were stacked high against two women with a vision to make their mark in the diamond industry.

Although the celebrated jewelry chain Tiffany & Co. became a member of the World Diamond Council in 2000, its strategic commitment to responsible sourcing can be traced back to 1995, when it decided to advocate against a proposed gold mine that threatened the fragile ecosystem of the Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

If we take stock of all that happened in the past 12 months, it is possible to find hope for better days. Something tells me that, thanks to these most challenging times, to use a euphemism, our sense of purpose and our resolve to bring positive impact have become clearer and stronger.

The year 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of two seminal events in the history of the diamond industry, both of them associated to the campaign to eliminate the trade in conflict diamonds. The first was the founding of the Kimberley Process (KP), the coalition of governments, industry and civil society that gave birth to Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPSC) and since then has overseen its operation.

Several times a year, with uncanny regularity, the international diamond trade receives alerts from the Kimberley Process (KP) about yet another false certificate that has been encountered, and for which it is asked to practice enhanced vigilance.

In Russian the word for both “exploration” and “secret service” is “razvedka.” The name of the specialization caught my attention at university, and I imagined myself as a special agent wearing sunglasses. It was only later that I came to realize it involved not espionage, but the exploration of minerals, precious metals and gemstones.