Diamonds... A Girl's Best Friend?

Diamonds have unique places in our society. They act as a societal symbol in addition to holding a significant industrial and scientific value.

So what's the big deal anyway? Let's look at the stand point from both ends...

Diamonds are composed of strong covalent bonds between carbon atoms, which form an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice. Diamonds have extreme properties. They are the hardest known material that are virtually incompressible and they are excellent thermal conductors. With these properties, diamonds are excellent for drilling, cutting and polishing, which explains why roughly 80% of mined diamonds are used industrially. Diamonds are transparent, lustrous and have a high refractive index. These properties help to explain why diamonds appear so sparkly and able to disperse so many colors so beautifully.

In addition to a status of royalty, diamonds have long been romanticized as a token of everlasting love. I think that diamonds are so popular amongst many women because it represents happiness and a feeling of "making it" in society because diamonds are considered to be rare and priceless. Most girls want to feel loved and like a princess. So, when a man opens up that tiny, black, velvet box and gets down on one knee, it can make a woman feel like she is the most priceless person. To commit your life to just one person is such an incredible thing and it can say a lot about one's devotion to the other person. I think that to begin life's long journey together with that expensive token of "forever" can represent a man's dedication to the most important person in his life. With all of the symbolism that diamonds represent in a person's life, it saddens me to know that some of these "priceless" gems are conflict diamonds.

So what is the fuss about conflict diamonds? To me, conflict diamonds are a horrendous side effect of supply and demand over a natural material. It is estimated that about only 4 percent of mined diamonds are conflict diamonds. Even though this is a relatively low percentage, that 4 percent represents human lives of both adults and children that are treated horrendously. I encourage you to go and pick up Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Kimberley Process has helped to prevent conflict diamonds to be intermixed with commercially sold diamonds. This in theory would prevent rebel groups from being financed and would prevent them from abusing humans' rights. Unfortunately, this is a "soft law" and is not legally binding. It is rather "supported" or "encouraged" by participating countries. Is it all worth it? No. Absolutely not.

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Here are some resources to help you ensure that you are not purchasing a conflict diamond:

http://www.stopblooddiamonds.org/a-blood-diamond.asp
http://www.dejoria.com/

Take a look at some other alternatives to diamonds...

Carat*
Diamond Nexus Lab
Lab made diamonds