The hardest natural substance known to man are Diamonds. After they are mined, the rough diamonds, which are very different to the stones with which we are familiar, are sorted before being sent to specialist centres for polishing and cutting. Those unsuitable for use in jewellery are shipped out to be used in the production of machinery.
A diamond’s rarity is judged by the 4 Cs: carat, which refers to the weight of the diamond: clarity, which refers to the presence of any imperfections: colour, which refers to the actual colour of the diamond and not the reflected colour: cut, which refers to the craftsmanship used to shape the diamond from rough to fashioned.
Blood Diamonds, also called conflict or war diamonds, sprang to fame after the release in 2006 of the film The Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Although the film is fictional, it is based on the fact that diamonds mined in areas of conflict had been used to fund criminal insurgencies and revolutionary activities carried out by militias and warlords within Africa. In 2002 an agreement, known as The Kimberley Process, was set up to guarantee that documentary evidence was provided to ensure that the proceeds of the sale of rough diamonds was not being used to fund any such illegal activities.
Since The Kimberley Process only applies to rough diamonds self regulation was introduced to apply to both rough and finished diamonds and human rights groups encourage consumers to check on their origins when buying diamonds. Apart from Africa, countries such as Venezuela and the Lebanon have been implicated in the trade and it is thought that blood diamonds might also fund al-Qaida. A blood diamond is therefore any diamond which is has been mined in a war zone and therefore the profits go the government to fund their war activities.
Real diamonds are therefore worth a great deal of money. However, in America a new kind of diamond has joined the market. Cubic zirconia, or American diamond as it is nicknamed, is difficult to differentiate from the real thing. As with real diamonds, the 4Cs of cut, colour, clarity and carat apply. It shines more brilliantly than a real diamond and does not wear away. It seems diamonds really are forever!