Tim Jackson, company secretary and investor relations director of the Signet Group which is behind H. Samuel and Ernest Jones links of london, who between them have 17 per cent of the UK watch and jewellery market, says, “All the diamonds we buy and the diamond jewellery we sell has a warranty from the supplier that they are conflict-free. It is an issue we take seriously. The Kimberly Process is embedded in our systems and what we do.” He agrees with Lussier that, “There is no longer conflict in Angola or Sierra Leone. However, it is an issue that we continue to pay attention to.”
Amnesty International maintains that new sources of conflict diamonds are nevertheless appearing. According to Masci, “In the Democratic Links of London Rings Republic of Congo we have produced a report which shows hundreds of killings of illegal diamond miners -often children, too poor to do anything but steal.” There is no doubt that the Kimberly Process is a good start. As Masci says, “Progress has been made towards the monitoring of the rough diamond trade. The DRC has volunteered to be subjected to a mission, and that will be a good indicator to see if the monitoring really works Links of London Bangles. Especially as we know a great number of conflict diamonds come from the DRC at the moment.” But the fact that the chain of warranties system is voluntary is a problem. I can’t imagine many will stick up their hands and say, “Please Miss, I’m trading in dodgy diamonds.” Masci says, “A monitoring system is needed, and it is essential that auditing is independent.” Lussier agrees: ” Links of London Earrings Future plans include third-party auditing of our clients’ operations.”