A Blood Diamond is Forever

You want to give your sweetie something sparkly this Valentine's Day. Maybe it's even time to pop the question. Diamonds are a girl's best friend, of course … unless the girl cares about funding wars in Africa and wearing a reminder of bloodshed and poverty on her finger, that is.

Unfortunately, the modern symbol of love is also a token of terrible tragedies. If you're looking to buy with a clear conscience, you'll want to do a little research before you're beguiled by the brilliance.

During the 1990s, money from selling diamonds financed several vicious civil wars in African countries. Military warlords and rebel groups alike mined diamonds to buy weapons in Sierra Leone, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia. Diamonds from Republic of Congo and Côte d'Ivoire were also used to fund wars in neighboring countries.

These gems became known as conflict diamonds or blood diamonds. Global Witness  estimates that up to 15% of all diamonds sold around the world in the late 1990s were conflict diamonds.

The United Nations imposed an embargo on non-government-certified diamonds from Angola in 1998 and did the same for Sierra Leone diamonds in 2000.

In 2003, the United Nations, over 70 countries, and the international diamond industry launched the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. This voluntary system is supposed to track rough diamonds from the mine to the retailer and ensure that they are conflict-free and legitimately traded.

In addition, the U.S. created several laws such as the Clean Diamonds Act to ban importation of rough diamonds that are not certified by the Kimberly Process. The U.S. is the world's largest consumer of diamond jewelry -- we bought $33.7 billion worth in 2005! But most of what we import are cut and polished stones, according to Global Witness.

While the Kimberly Process has made strides, it also has weaknesses that have been exploited. Some conflict diamonds are still getting onto the market, although thankfully in small numbers. Partnership Africa Canada reports how Côte d'Ivoire continues to launder blood diamonds through other countries and how lack of monitoring keeps retailers from always knowing what they're selling.

So how are we supposed to know what we're buying for our loved ones? You'll have to ask the jeweler some questions, and be prepared to shop around. The Conflict-Free Diamond Council has useful guidelines to consider when looking for a diamond.

Download Amnesty International's diamond buyer's guide (PDF) for handy questions to ask your diamond retailer.

To learn more about specific stores, check out the charts from Global Witness and Amnesty International. These PDFs give details about businesses' conflict-diamond policies and what monitoring organizations they belong to. You'll find everyone from Wal-Mart to Saks Fifth Avenue included.

You can look up the conflict-free diamond statements of some big-name stores online, such as Tiffany, Ben Bridge Jewelery, and Zales.

Blue Nile, Whiteflash, and James Allen Professional Jeweler are among the many online retailers who sell conflict-free diamonds in accordance with the Kimberly Process.

Some folks prefer diamonds mined in Canada. The CanadaMark certification guarantees that the diamonds are from the Great White North, which is, of course, far from ugly wars.

However, Canadian diamonds aren't perfect for the environment either. Mining Watch points out that northern diamond mines damage delicate ecosystems and animal habitats. These operations have also disrupted the lives of indigenous people in Canada.

One of the most eco-friendly options is to recycle jewelry. For example, Green Karat uses recycled gems in its designs. This not only ensures that your diamond is free of taint, but it doesn't hurt the environment with messy mining practices.

Similarly, vintage jewelry from before the 1990s neatly avoids conflict and harm to the planet. If you insist, you can always have the stone removed from an old setting and placed into a ring, necklace, etc., of your own design. Jewelers do this frequently when heirlooms are inherited but styles change. Search antique stores in your town or troll eBay for deals.