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."
But the fakes look just as good,
cost less and if you loose it,
no biggie.
Personally, they're best when paired with something of color.
Good for you. Stay healthy and happy.
Sooo where do we stand on emeradls?
I don't know what they sell for today ( which is patently obvious by my previous posts ), but I certainly DO know what they were going for several decades ago, in Bermuda.
Garnets look NOTHING at all like alexandrites. Garnet was my great grandmothetr's birthstone and I grew up being allowed to wear them, when I played dress-up. Garnets and alexandrites are semiprecious stones, but garnets do NOT change color.
If you want to discuss this further, I suggest that we do it in private, since the topic of this thread is diamonds. :-)
I don't own even one piece of jewelery.
Did you read my post? I said barter. That's what they're worth. Just like dollar bills. Sheesh. Where do they come from?
PR BS for the film
I suspect this is all about viral advertising.
So I'll post this one, instead.
You are right. Diamonds are like gold but don't have the historic monetary link. I have never been one to put much weight in diamonds but I surely understand that they have value for others. I think the most nauseous sight is a grown man with a diamond ring. It's worse than a termite with a wooden leg.
What about the Champaign diamonds from australia?
Those are the color of the sparkling wine hence the name.
So those can't be subject to this sucker PR campaign.
You're not even wearing a watch on your homepage. :)
I hereby officially offer to take all those nasty, conflict-stained, evil unPC diamonds . I could deal with the guilt...really!
Next week the hollyweird set will stop shaving their armpits in order to support fair wages for the razor blade factories.
Perhaps the hollyweird types are spending a bit too much money on high colonics.
I also cannot understand why people love diamonds, or jewlery in general. Give me a leather lazyboy recliner over a watch anyday.
LOL. All women like to feel like they are queens. Diamonds are one of many ways of doing this.
Nope. I do have gold though...Krugerrands
I think the black opal is probably the most beautiful stone out there!
lol! Good for you! :)
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