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."
Thanks,
I feel better.
I do know they mines flooded and then petered out so to speak.
Really? You mean all that time and money I spent studying to become a gemologist has been wasted? LOL!! Maybe I should have taken courses from you.
"I didn't insult you."
Well, if your post #145 is not an insult ...
The sad thing is that it is precisely the sentiment you expressed in that post that perpetuates the diamond scam. And I get the impression you are not about to see through the diamond ruse anytime soon.
I can understand perfectly well your appreciation for the appearance of diamonds. But as someone just pointed out, cheap fake diamonds are virtually indistinguishable from real diamonds when worn as jewelry -- unless the people you socialize with have a habit of inspecting your rings with a magnifier!
Again, I don't care if you or anyone else prefers to buy real diamonds. What bothers me is the social pressure people like you create for everyone else to waste their money on real diamonds. And your post #145 epitomizes that pressure perfectly.
Twenty years ago diamonds had barter value. Today it looks iffy. Synthetic diamonds are getting better and better, and soon it will be real hard to tell if a particular diamond was mined or grown
I'm Hip!!You want my wifes diamonds,you will have to pry them open from her cold,dead hands.
Diamond ruse....there you go. Anyone who doesn't conform to your idea of not owning diamonds is too stupid to know it is a ruse. Again, don't insult people and not expect to take flack. You insulted a very large group of people and just did so again. Let's end this conversation since you seem to think that just because I happen to buy diamonds I am putting social pressure on others to buy them. People buy what they want to buy. And I am not buying what you are attempting to feed me. Have a nice life.
Diamonds may not be a crazy Hollywood b*tch's best friend, but they're still a girl's best friend.
Just go to Google News for Synthetic Diamond
Current issue is that synthetic diamonds are getting real hard to detect
Diamonds never did appeal to me, although I have been given a few.
I'd much prefer a boat or a new rod and reel.
Lol!
I got a scum buster one year for my anniversary.
I was ok with it, but my girlfriends were horrified.
I'm not like most women though. I actually LIKE practical gifts.
There are some notorious alexandrite impostors that have been sold in tourist areas at low prices for nearly 100 years. I'm not saying that's what your stone was but alex with strong color change and low price simply don't go together. That's true even now when more stones are available from newer sources in Sri Lanka, Brazil and India. There are tremendous numbers of alex simulants and synthetics on the market today.
The simulants are generally man-made sapphire or spinel that's been doped with vanadium to cause a somewhat authentic color change. The first true synthetic alexandrites (color-change chrysoberyl) were produced in California in the 1970s. They are chemically and physically identical to natural stones but can be distinguished with sophisticated gemological techniques.
I'm sure you know the difference between an appraisal and a gem ID done by independent labs like the Gemological Institute of America and the American Gem Trade Association. The labs have the expertise and equipment to make difficult identifications, unlike most retail jewelers who specialize mostly in diamonds and often don't know much about colored stones. The labs do not appraise stones, BTW, just identify them.
"It's a figure of speech."
And a very telling one too.
"Diamond ruse....there you go. Anyone who doesn't conform to your idea of not owning diamonds is too stupid to know it is a ruse."
I wouldn't use the word "stupid," but I think "ignorant" applies very well. When ignorance persists for a long period after the facts are available, then "stupid" applies. With regard to the diamond scam, I think it's safe to say that some ignorant people are working hard to qualify as stupid.
Yes, that's an insult. Unlike you, I don't deny that I've insulted someone when I obviously have.
LOL. Someone earlier said you can't eat a boat. Well you sure can if you have a rod and reel.
I'm not a big diamond fancier. But I don't understand how the DeBeers marketing approach is a "scam." Is it any different than marketing campaigns to create social pressure to buy a new car every year, own new HDTVs, fancy houses or the kind of toilet paper that bears use in the woods or thousands of other products sold through the American capitalist system?
No such pressures are felt in socialist systems where people aren't allowed such choices. One of the challenges of living in a capitalist consumer society is learning to cope with and say "no" to the many manipulative messages we're tempted with daily. But I much prefer it to the alternatives.
"I'm not a big diamond fancier. But I don't understand how the DeBeers marketing approach is a "scam." Is it any different than marketing campaigns to create social pressure to buy a new car every year, own new HDTVs, fancy houses or the kind of toilet paper that bears use in the woods or thousands of other products sold through the American capitalist system?"
Yes, I agree. Diamond marketing is no more a scam than some car maker claiming you will be more of a man if you buy their vehicle. The difference is that (a) the automotive market is infinitely more competitive than the diamond market (it isn't controlled by a monopoly), and (b) car marketing hasn't convinced a substantial population of women that the true measure of love is the market "value" of a vehicle and nothing else qualifies. Yes, you can buy a vehicle for your girlfriend to show your love, but if you buy something else of a similar value, she won't feel that you love her less.
I am not suggesting that diamond advertising should be banned. I am merely suggesting that people should try to avoid being deceived by it.
"Well you sure can if you have a rod and reel."
That's right. Plus diamonds just get all slimy when you take the fish off the hook.
Actually, I have been given diamonds and I appreciated the thought, and most women I know like them. But a guided fishing trip to Alaska, etc. would suit me better. I already have a boat, canoe, and fishing tackle.
I opened this thread because I do have some diamonds, they are nice, but not practical for a woman like me.
Yes, lives were lost in a tragic flood. But production is now at near-peak levels again. Block D, which produces the best material, has been taken over by a South African company that's doing its best to monopolize tanzanite supplies and marketing a la DeBeers. If they succeed expect tanzanite prices to go up.
After 9-11 there were charges that tanzanite was used to finance Al Qaeda. The charges were absolutely untrue, as was proven by the tireless work of dealer Abe Suleman and others. The real problem now is that the Tanzanian government has capitulated to the South African company (AFGEM) that started the rumor, and has taken the mining profits away from the local Masai tribes which formerly benefited. That's African politics.
We agree on that. What really pisses most guys off about DeBeers' diamond campaign is that they're at a helpless disadvantage when women demand diamond engagement rings and other diamond jewelry after marriage. Score one for the ladies and N.W. Ayer which brilliantly exploited a tense little psychological niche between the sexes.
It was Carol Channing with her title song in the Anita Loos Broadway production of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" who turned the campaign into a marketing sensation. Marilyn Monroe's performance in the movie underscored it. Get used to it guys. My wife wears diamonds too.
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