Sourcing and The KP Process
Is It Ethical To Buy Diamonds?
Each Rose and Stone diamond is hand-selected by Maryke for its unique characteristics and quality. She has established relationships with suppliers who she has met over the years. These suppliers all comply with the KP Process. The diamonds are all guaranteed natural and have not been heat-treated or altered in any way. This is another benefit of choosing a salt and pepper diamond over a white diamond, as the diamonds are championed for their natural characteristics, one can rest aware that the diamonds have not been heat-treated or altered in any way to “improve” their appearance.
The KP Process and ethical diamond mining
We are grateful that the question of ethical sourcing is so prevalent these days and we often get inquiries as to where our diamonds come from and whether they are “blood or conflict” diamonds. The Rose and Stone Diamond Store suppliers comply with the Kimberly Process. Today, The Kimberley Process Scheme ensures that 99.8% of the worldwide diamond trade is certified conflict-free. The core of this regime is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) under which States implement safeguards on shipments of rough diamonds and certify them as “conflict-free".
We are, however, aware that every scheme has its shortcomings and we acknowledge that the KP process is not perfect. We are also cognizant of the fact that every industry has its shortcomings, the diamond industry should not be signalled out. We believe that it is important for people to purchase responsibly and to find a method of giving back to the world, in one way or another.
We also believe that salt and pepper diamonds, colour and opaque diamonds fall in a slightly different category, as these diamonds can be regarded as reject or industry-grade diamonds. The rising popularity of these types of diamonds means that less rough is discarded as miners are not solely miming for the “perfect” diamonds. It also means that miners are getting paid for what was previously regarded as reject diamonds. Mining for colour and opaque diamonds has a far smaller impact on the environment, as massive amounts of the earth isn’t mined to find one carat of the perfect, clear diamond, nor is massive amounts of rough shipped to countries to be sorted into diamonds with 4 C’s.
Therefore you can commend yourself for choosing an ethically sourced, alternative, earth-friendlier diamond.