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Not just any celebrity can turn a niche activist concern into a pop culture affair. It takes the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio who, with the 2006 film
Blood Diamond, brought the concept of ‘conflict diamonds’ into the mainstream. The international diamond lobby was so concerned with the blockbuster’s depiction of diamond fields in civil war-era Sierra Leone, they urged director Edward Zwick to add a disclaimer touting the industry’s progress. He did no such thing.
In case you missed the movie, conflict diamonds are mined in war zones, often by forced labour, and used to fund armed rebel groups, warlords, and invading armies. While Sierra Leone’s civil war ended in 2002 and an international standard called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was established in 2003, conflict diamonds remain an insidious and all-too-common presence in the jewelry world. This is where most people’s knowledge stops.