Perception is everything in the diamond industry. From the retailers who often know much more than the buyer, to its place in a modern fairy tale wedding, to the effects of a Hollywood film, the gemstone's identity lies in its image.

"In America it's bling-bling, but out here it's bling-bang," says Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the recent film, "Blood Diamond."

The issue of conflict diamonds — or diamonds used to fund wars against legitimate governments — came to the forefront of the world's attention in the 1990s as the most concentrated form of wealth in the world was used to equip rebel armies with weapons in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The diamond industry paid close attention as their product's image was linked to the brutal wars. And the United Nations, along with NGOs (non-government organizations) such as Partnership Africa Canada, worked to keep the situation in the public's minds. In 2000 the South African government arranged a meeting in the town of Kimberly, South Africa, with the industry, governments and NGOs in attendance. The result was the first attempt to control and track the flow of diamonds, called the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. With the wars in Sierra Leone and Angola over, the group's goal was to keep this worst aspect of diamond theft from ever returning to Africa.

According to Ian Smillie, research coordinator for Partnership Africa Canada, the Kimberly Process regulations state a country cannot allow any diamonds to be exported to a country that is not a member of the Kimberly Process and similarly cannot accept any diamonds from a country that is not a member.

Currently more than 70 countries participate in the agreement that requires individual governments to pass legislation to enforce the certification program, which tracks where diamonds are derived. The U.S. signed the Clean Diamond Trade Act in 2003. By mid-2003, the Kimberly Process was fully implemented.

Skip ahead to 2006. "Blood Diamond" is released featuring Hollywood megastar Leonardo DiCaprio as a South African mercenary looking to cash in on a diamond digger's (Djimon Hounsou) extraordinary find, set in Sierra Leone during its 10-year civil war.

The film was released Dec. 8, 2006, and continues to show in theaters (including at Skyline Cinema and the Speakeasy this week.) And while it is doing well at the box office, movie-goers aren't necessarily asking more questions. Local diamond retailers in Breckenridge Kristina Nethaway, owner of Kristina / Gold Jewelry Design, and Design for Times owner Terry Lowe haven't gotten a single inquiry on where they get their diamonds since the movie came out.

Lowe has been in the business for 13 years and said a diamond dealer's reputation is always on the line.

"Part of what a jeweler has to offer is that I know who I am dealing with," she said in regard to her sellers. Lowe and Nethaway both said they can get certification papers on any of their diamonds if requested.

But if consumers weren't exactly stepping up in response to the violence which was depicted on film and based on true events, more powerful entities would.

"(The film) reminded industry and the governments that are a part of the Kimberly Process that this was still an important, live issue," Smillie said. "Because of the film and the publicity it was generating, they knew they better be doing something, or better be seen doing something."

Three years after its formation, the Kimberly Process was waning due to financing issues and noncompliance, yet a new burst of attention via Hollywood helped keep those involved on track.

Ivorian conflict diamonds, which were found to be slipping out through Ghana in 2006, were addressed head on. According to Smillie, the Ghanian government held its shipments until every diamond digger in the country was registered and an independent diamond expert confirmed the gems exported were in fact from Ghana.

"That's the kind of the thing that needs to happen," Smillie said. Currently, the Kimberly Process administrators are working on the situation in Venezuela, where Partnership Africa Canada found that in 2005 and 2006 100 percent of the country's diamonds were being smuggled out irregardless of the Kimberly Process regulations.

"It has to be fixed," Smillie said. "If you can smuggle out of Venezuela with impunity, it is a great place to launder diamonds. If there is a leak in the boat, it will sink the boat eventually. We gotta watch out for all the leaks and plug all the leaks," he said.

Today the World Diamond Council, an organization formed by the diamond industry in 2000 with a direct mandate to eliminate conflict diamonds in legitimate trade, cites studies by the U.N. that more than 99 percent of the gems on the market are from conflict-free sources.

"The movie has presented us with an amazing opportunity, and one that we welcome, to talk about the issue of conflict diamonds and talk about the Kimberly Process," World Diamond Council spokesperson Carson Glover said.

This complicated issue of conflict diamonds, which has received the benefit of attention, continues to evolve. As industry folks are eager to point out, some African countries' economies depend heavily on diamonds. And it is precisely those areas and diggers who were exploited through conflict diamonds that are still in need.

According to Smillie, much of the current challenges come down to the two different types of diamond mining. Some, like in countries of Botswana, Russia and Canada, are found in deep veins called kimberlite pipes that require heavy machinery to excavate and can easily be fenced off. But others, like in Sierra Leone and the Congo, called alluvial diamonds, have come to the surface over the last 50 million years and are scattered over areas of hundreds of square miles.

Smillie said very few small or large companies get involved in the alluvial diamond fields where there is little infrastructure and the venture is simply not profitable for them. This in turn, makes an obstacle to regulation and garnering taxes that could be used for development, schools and roads.

"There are more than a million digging this way and earning peanuts," Smillie said. "They are trying to get richer, but are working in dirty water and are actually getting poorer. (The alluvial diamond mining) is not a recipe for development, prosperity or peace."

The Diamond Development Initiative is the next step the NGOs, businesses and governments are taking to raise the estimated million African diggers out of poverty.

And Smillie says this challenge could prove more difficult than the issue of conflict diamonds.

"The Diamond Development Initiative is a huge challenge, maybe even bigger than the Kimberly Process because it is not as compelling. Babies' hands being cut off is a compelling reason to act," Smillie said in reference to the violence that occurred during Sierra Leone's civil war.

"The idea is to move on," Smillie said. "Now we've done the policing thing - the Kimberly Process is really about regulations, not about development.

"We are looking at policy and taxes and encouraging companies to come in and behave in a socially responsible way."



Leslie Brefeld can be reached at (970) 668-4626 or lbrefeld@summitdaily.com.