Since we’re focused on saving you money, we can only start an article on conflict-free Canadian Diamonds by making sure you know that, on average, you will pay a 5-10% premium if you choose to go this route. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Still interested? Read on:
Ever since 2006, when the blockbuster hit Blood Diamond was released, women across the world have question if the diamond on their engagement ring was ‘conflict-free.’ The movie, set in the 1990’s in war torn Sierra Leone, depicts a country (and in some ways a continent) torn apart by a brutal war, which in part, is funded and fueled by access to natural diamond reserves.
Even before the movie, jewelers rushed to label their diamonds ‘conflict-free’ for savvy American consumers. According to the United Nations:
Conflict diamonds are diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council.
Therefore, if a diamond comes from one of those nations, it’s a conflict diamond. As portrayed in the movie, it may be difficult to tell if a diamond purchased in a conflict-free zone was originally mined there. In the end, with African diamonds, the call is yours.
Enter Canada:
In 1998, around the same time Blood Diamond was set, the first diamond mining production began from the Ekati mine in the Northwest Territories. Two other mines quickly opened in the northern regions of Canada, and by 2003 Canada was the 3rd largest value producer of diamonds in the world. (Checkout which countries are world’s top diamond producers.)
What does this mean for you, as someone ready to buy an engagement ring??
If you or your girlfriend are particularly worried about conflict diamonds and the continued civil wars around the African continent, than buying Canadian diamonds might just be for you. There are a number of specific brands of canadian diamonds, and the nation makes strict claims about the code of conduct for workers where the stones are mined. 
A number of jewelers, both large and small, have added Canadian diamonds to their inventory. If you decide to go the Canadian route, make sure a Certificate of Authenticity accompanies your stone from the Government of the North West Territories (GNWT). This means the diamond was mined in the Northwest of the country, is guaranteed an authentic canadian diamond and meets all human rights requirements from the mine, through the manufacturing process, to the store (but don’t forget you’ll still want an independent certification from the GIA or AGS too).
While we haven’t verified this, canadian diamond manufactures also claim that canadian diamonds are some of the highest quality in the world. We’ll leave that for you to decide. One of our favorite sellers of Canadian diamonds is another San Francisco company, Brilliant Earth. If you aren’t only socially conscious but are also eco-conscious, they even use recycled gold in their bands
