Engagement rings - - supporting terrorists?!

[mac56]

I heard on NPR this morning that Al Qaeda heavily invested in the diamond trade, particularly in Liberia, to fund their operations.

This is huge. Remember all the TV ads that suggested that buying pot supported the terrorists? When, then, will we see ads targeted to young engaged couples suggesting that buying a diamond engagement ring will support the terrorists too?

I won't be holding my breath.

[eyesroll]

1. If you really, really want a diamond...

Buy a vintage ring and reset the stone if the setting isn't appropriate. That way, even if horribly evil people mined/sold/whatever the diamond originally, at least the only person getting $ this time around is whoever you buy it from (jeweler, estate, etc.)

[BlueEyedSon]

2. Buy Canadian Diamonds

Allegedly Ethical...

[radwriter0555]

3. Al queda is by and large a myth; I imagine this story is rooted in the

concerns of debeers over increasing competition from independent miners and processors.

[amazona]

12. independent miners ?

I would be amazed if you could find any independent miners who have not been pressured by extremists in places as distant as Tanzania and Sierra Leone.

[WildClarySage]

4. But I thought diamonds were ok

since Jerry Falwell has so much invested in dimaond mining it must be a sincerely Godly product resulting from such moral produc-

*cough*

*cough*

*Choking*

*gasp*

[nostamj]

14. I thought it was Pat Robertson

that was covered in BLOOD for his diamond dealings... :shrug:

[kwolf68]

19. It was Pat Robertson..not falwell

Same shit, different piles.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Than I feel even better!!

We didn't want a big gaudy rock that would cost us years to pay off.

We got a matched set of brushed silver bands with engraved lines through them (mine has 1, his has 2). I love mine, and I've never taken it off. The sucker is immune to any damage I can throw at it.

[tigereye]

8. never had a diamond

we had nice silver rings made with cool engravings

[fudge stripe cookays]

9. Great minds think alike!

It's the thought behind the ring, not the ring that makes a difference.

Half the idiots that buy expensive ice are divorced within 5 years.

[wicket]

21. I want to do something similar

Though I'm sure I'll get ragged on by some in my family for being "untraditional" ("Don't you want a big diamond on that finger?" yadda yadda yadda). May you and your love have a wonderful life together! :)

[fudge stripe cookays]

23. Why thank you!

I always remember that day so well!

We had just told reprehensor's brother and sister-in-law we were engaged (they were the first ones we told), and on my first excursion through West Edmonton Mall, we found a little tiny jewelry store, and they helped us pick them out.

Do what YOU want for your wedding! Don't let anyone bully you! IT's your day and your choices!

FSC

[obnoxiousdrunk]

6. So is

Pat Robertson with the terrorists ? His operations are in Liberia too.

[Misinformed01]

7. I have never owned a diamond...not even an antique one

Slave labor disgusts me.

[noonwitch]

10. What about brazilian diamonds?

I wouldn't buy an african one, for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of the way laborers have been exploited, especially in the Apartheid times in South Africa.
A brazilian diamond might not be such a bad alternative. Personally, I prefer emeralds. I like the way they reflect the light, and green is one of my favorite colours.

[amazona]

15. mined out, aren't they ?

I would not be confident that a modern diamond was from Brazil, as opposed to being laundered after being mined from another area. If you could be sure of the origin, I have no problem with buying New World stones. But it might be the same issue as buying an Arkansas diamond -- there are just not that many that come on the market any more.

If you have more information about this, please educate me, as I am always eager to learn more about stones. And I love reading stories of new finds I was unaware of! I have a bit of that treasure-seeking gene. :-)

[amazona]

11. please don't buy Diamonds and Tanzanite

It is more than just "heavily invested" -- that sounds quite passive -- terrorists in some areas are going into villages and chopping off people's limbs and leaving them alive to get people to leave diamond mining areas. Reports from Tanzania aren't as bad, but it still comes down to if a local wants to sell tanzanite, he has to sell to certain extremist Muslim buyers (Al Qaeda if you like) even though most Tanzanians themselves are of Christian or moderate Muslim persuasion.

I know some people shrug it off by saying they are buying Russian or other diamonds, but 1) some of these diamonds are laundered, and 2) in the case of Russian diamonds, there are quite a few un-tagged lab-created diamonds being slipped in.

The diamond market is softening, and sooner or later (probably sooner) the bottom will drop out because of the fraud issue. Too many people are going to learn they were sold a $50 piece of junk for $2,000 and it is going to knock the heart out of the market, and even the real stuff is going to sink. Look what happened to the coin market when it became known that a great many coins were actually fakes. Even the prices of the real coins was severely impacted.

Diamonds are a bad investment, and the day will come when you will be ashamed to wear them, so I say save your money.

[Unperson 309]

22. Quite so! Our diamonds are

few in number, but precious! The "newest" diamond (set in a ring in the Missus' jewelry box) is from her grandmother's wedding set. It's probably dated around the 1920's or earlier. Oldest one is from my great great grandmother's brooch and is from the 1880's.

I', "pretty* sure that they were not bought from al Qaida. :)

Someday I'll have them all reset nicely.

309

[SheepyMcSheepster]

13. diamonds schmiamonds

i could give a rats ass about such a thing. i don't see why people buy them anymore, they don't do anything except cost lots of money.

[JayS]

16. A massive waste of resources for nothing more than a...

...pretty rock. The same goes for gold. If you want to support the environment, purchase neither.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. Buy an artificial diamond

guaranteed no-one exploited in mining it. You'd just be rewarding the company who invested in the new process.

[Jack_DeLeon]

24. I agree...

better to own a made in the USA larger more perfect diamond than to buy something dug out of the ground by virtual slaves.

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. Buy Canadian diamonds, or if you have to get African ones make

sure they are certified so that you know no one's rights were trampled on when they were obtained. Otherwise, you could indeed be buying "blood diamonds". Not necessarily funding al qaeda, but possibly one militant group or another.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=site%3Awww%2Ecommondreams%2Eorg+diamonds

[DrWeird]

20. I say we outlaw the sale of diamonds.

Unless they can be proved to come from a legitimate source.

We did it for ivory because the elephants were going extinct. Walrus ivory's still legal. I guess people care more about elephants than black people.

[Jack_DeLeon]

25. Well you are probably right...

elephants are going extinct, people arent.