Posted on 01/06/2007 7:44:37 PM PST by blam
Diamonds are no longer a girl's best friend
By Chris Hastings, Stephanie Plentl and Beth Jones, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:29am GMT 07/01/2007
Diamonds have been synonymous with Hollywood glamour since Marilyn Monroe declared them to be a girl's best friend in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But now a new generation of Hollywood stars is shunning the stones as a new film exposes the darker side of the international diamond trade.
Blood Diamond tells the story of forced-labour diamond mines
For the first time in the 79-year history of the Oscars, certain kinds of diamond will be absent from the annual prize-giving ceremony. Normally the awards, which will take place on February 25, are awash with sparkling stones, with some stars even choosing to wear them on their shoes.
But now many of the biggest names in Hollywood are asking agents and diamond experts to ensure they are not photographed wearing illicit diamonds.
The backlash against the stones has led to diamonds being dubbed the "new fur", as stars increasingly try to make sure that they are not wearing anything that might be regarded as unethical.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly, the stars of Blood Diamond, as well as Kayne West, the rap artist, the models Iman and Erin O'Connor – the face of Marks and Spencer – are leading the backlash. Blood Diamond, part of which was filmed in London's Hatton Garden diamond district, is set in civil war-ravaged Sierra Leone and tells the story of forced-labour diamond mining companies.
The success of the film, which has already opened in America and comes to UK cinemas at the end of the month, has led to an upsurge in demand for so-called conflict-free diamonds, which carry a certificate of confirmation that their trade is not connected with war, civil strife or human rights abuses.
Gaia Geddes, the jewellery editor at Harper's Bazaar, said: "You have the Oscars and Baftas coming up, and that's when the stars wear very big rocks. This year there will be a lot of focus on conflict-free diamonds and a lot of people will take a stand, just like they did with fur."
Connelly, 36, who plays a journalist in the movie, made a point of wearing "conflict-free" diamonds to the film's American premiere last month.
"I think what I got out of the film is a desire to be a more ethnical consumer," she said. "I did some research and there are companies like Bulgari, like Tiffany, that are striving to be clean and accountable and that provide written guarantees that their diamonds are conflict-free.
Iman pulled out of her contract as the face of De Beers
"No one is saying boycott diamonds but [buyers] can be pro-active and go to their jewellers and say, 'Can you show me a certificate? Can you give me a verifiable warranty that these diamonds are conflict-free?'"
Jane Fonda, the double Oscar-winning actress and friend of the film's producer, Paula Weinstein, has also revealed how she has made sure she only wears conflict-free diamonds.
African tribes in conflict with the diamond industry are actively targeting the world's celebrities in a bid to win them over. Last year, Bushmen in the Kalahari in dispute with De Beers wrote an open letter in Variety to DiCaprio, seeking his support.
Eileen Kelly, the manager of Abiba, a jeweller in Hatton Garden, said: "Recently we have had more and more customers come into the shop because of publicity about the film and ask where the diamonds have come from. We can say that we do not sell conflict diamonds. For the past year we have quite clearly printed on our receipts that our diamonds are conflict-free."
The campaign against the diamond trade had been building up even before the release of Blood Diamond. In 2004 Iman, who is married to the singer David Bowie, pulled out of her contract as the face of De Beers in protest at what she claimed was the company's eviction of tribespeople from their land in Botswana. In 2005, the actress Julie Christie joined a protest outside the Natural History Museum in support of the same tribesmen.
De Beers denies all the allegations levied against it in connection with diamonds. The company declined to comment last night, but a spokesman for the World Diamond Council, the representative body of the diamond industry, said: "We don't have any issue with the film. The important thing is that the movie is based in the past, in 1999, and the situation now is that the vast majority of conflict is over.
"The diamond industry contributes over $8 million (about £4.5 million) per year to local African economies, which helps to build schools, hospitals and provide employment."
I really don't give a damn where a diamond comes from -- they are all a scam. The whole idea that you prove your love for a woman by sending a suitcase full of money to some billionaire in South Africa if idiotic, and I refuse to fall for it. Yes -- I know -- I'm cheap, right? You fell for the lie!
Yeah, I bet she does. /sarcasm
Neither are they rare. They have been held back from mines on purpose to keep their prices high. Investing in diamonds is foolish.
Don't buy those awful diamonds because that leaves more for us!
Well, one man's narcoterrorist IS another man's freedom fighter.
Are you married?
You aren't married and not all that old, are you? LOL
Only the conflict your husband had to go through to get it for you.
Has she revealed HOW or has she revealed THAT she only wears conflict-free diamonds?
" Diamonds are a girls best friend, if the girl is a prostitute.
If you know what I mean, you know who I mean."
You must have been badly burned to express such a sentiment.
I'm sorry...
Actually I am. And I'm getting pretty old.
This whole diamond is one of the most incredible marketing scams of all time. Think about it. In collaboration with Hollywood (decades ago), they convinced women that the measure of their boyfriend's love for them is the amount of money they send to some billionaire in South Africa! If that isn't the greatest marketing scam of all time, I don't know what is!
"...1 carat each per ear diamonds..."
She must have big ears. ;o)
I'm just teasing you.
What a lovely gift for a very special anniversary!
Congratulations to you both!
You must love her very much.
I bet she loves you every bit as much as you love her.
"Big Hollywood"
Works for me on many levels.
"Blue Diamond set in white Gold bracelet"
OOOOOOOH!
I bet it is absolutely STUNNING!
I'm so happy that you decided to indulge yourself.
I know of no one who is more deserving of something so beautiful,
for more than one reason.
You are such a good person...
I believe in the free market system, the rights of international corporations, and the necessity of owners of minerals to be wise in contracts they make. However, I don't think that the people of these countries had a chance, from before the time of Rhodes and colonization.
What made DeBeers so special that it got the monopoly? Why should the likes of Jackie Kennedy, with her unchallenged inside information, make millions off the backs of oppressed people and get a pass from the media? Thank heavens that there has been greater competition in the oil industry. Wish that the government had been as interested in investigating the diamond industry as it had been in the oil industry.
Success? It`s been bashed by just about every critic in Hollywierd, and is now at #12 on top movies....
http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/;_ylt=AvFddZGVKCWNAAIfPTnvaGFfVXcA
What's the latest on artificial diamonds? Seems like I hear every couple of years that we're on the verge of low-cost, high-quality man-made diamonds. I've even heard that they will have a higher quality than natural diamonds. Some have even suggested that the imperfections of natural diamonds will give them greater value. What a bunch of fools!
I long for the day when the suckers who shelled out big money for diamonds learn their lesson.
Look at this beauty, look at the facets, how it sparkles...
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