We may not be able to defeat evil, but if we do something to support what is good and right in the world we will eventually over take the evil that exists. We cannot sell a product which symbolizes love and commitment and allow it to be tarnished by unfair labor practices, child labor, and war and terror. As an industry we must be vigilant to continue to strive to do good by improving the diamond producing countries, giving a fair share of the profit back to the miners, and making sure we are being good stewards of the earth and all the natural resources.
At Passion Fire Diamonds we are committed to ethical sourcing and transparent and efficient markets which are fair for all people involved. Doing something good is important because values matter and all business transactions involve moral choice. We can offer product which respect the environment and exploit children or which helps those miners. We could choose to bless our community or exploit it for the sole goal of short term profit, but at what expense? With my own family of six children, I want this community to be better than when I found it for the sake of my own children, as well as others.
At the recent international diamond conference in Las Vegas, there was a great deal of discussion regarding the Kimberly process, ethical sourcing and “fair trade” practices, which can even be certified. We support the Kimberly Process, while recognizing that there are serious flaws in the current system. We too this opportunity to discuss with each of our suppliers the importance of ethical sourcing, and made it very clear we have a zero tolerance policy. If any diamond does not have a clear history, we won’t buy it for our sites or stores.
I personally was not aware of the difference between ethical sourcing and full blown fair trade certification, but it is definitely something I want to look at with respect to not only the diamonds, but also the “green” gold and other metals we use. We will always recycle whenever we can whether it means buying our client’s diamonds and precious metals in order to recycle them into new rings. The only way our industry can meet the rising diamond demand in coming years is to re-cut and recycle diamonds from the second hand market. This requires that we offer a fair market price for these diamonds and not take advantage of consumers who are not as familiar with the diamond market. We are looking for ways we can use some of the more outdated cutting styles so that we can provide better offers for recycled diamonds.
David Nygaard
Passion Fire Diamonds
