How it came about

In the late 1990s it became known that rebel groups in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were financing civil wars by selling rough diamonds – hence the term "conflict diamonds" or "blood diamonds". In May 2000 producing states of southern Africa met in Kimberley, South Africa, to discuss countermeasures. In December 2000 the United Nations General Assembly, in resolution 55/56, supported the creation of an international certification scheme. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) came into force on 1 January 2003.

How the scheme works

The Kimberley Process is an agreement between states, with industry and non-governmental organisations taking part as observers. The core rules:

  • Every shipment of rough diamonds crossing a border needs a tamper-resistant Kimberley certificate from the exporting state.
  • Rough diamonds may be traded only between participating states.
  • Rough diamonds travel in sealed, tamper-proof containers.
  • Every participant must maintain national legislation, controls and statistics and submit to peer reviews.

According to the Kimberley Process, participants today cover nearly the entire global trade in rough diamonds; the current list and statistics are published by the secretariat at kimberleyprocess.com. The European Union takes part as one participant; the United Arab Emirates, home of STIG International, have been a participant since 2003, and Dubai is, through the DMCC, a major trading centre for certified rough diamonds.

System of Warranties – from rough to polished

The Kimberley certificate accompanies the rough diamond to the cutting works. For polished stones there is no state certificate; here the World Diamond Council's System of Warranties applies: every dealer confirms on its invoices that the diamonds come from conflict-free sources in compliance with the Kimberley Process, and must have received that assurance from its suppliers. The chain of warranties is checkable because every invoice must carry it.

What the Kimberley Process does not cover

The Kimberley Process has a narrow definition: conflict diamonds are rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. Human-rights violations by state actors, working conditions or the environmental consequences of mining are not covered. Non-governmental organisations have criticised this for years; the reform debate continues within the process. Anyone who wants to go beyond the Kimberley standard looks additionally at origin statements of individual mines or programmes of individual producers.

What that means for buyers

For a polished, certified diamond in the trade, "conflict-free" means: the dealer has received the warranty under the System of Warranties and passes it on. Ask for it – a reputable dealer can show its supplier's warranty.

What a Kimberley certificate looks like

Every Kimberley certificate is a tamper-resistant document of the exporting state with minimum entries the agreement prescribes: a unique number, date of issue and expiry, issuing authority, country of origin (for mixed shipments a note to that effect), exporter and importer, weight in carats, value in US dollars, number of parcels and the confirmation that the rough diamonds comply with the Kimberley Process rules. The importing state confirms receipt; the data feed the statistics the secretariat publishes annually. For polished stones this certificate does not exist – from the cutting works onward the System of Warranties on invoices applies.

Responsibility of dealers

The Kimberley Process binds states; dealers are involved through national legislation and the System of Warranties. In the DMCC free zone in Dubai further rules apply: companies must identify their business partners (know your customer), document transactions and comply with anti-money-laundering requirements; the DMCC is at the same time the authority that implements the Kimberley Process in the UAE and clears rough diamond shipments. A dealer who follows these rules can show for every stone from whom it was bought and with which warranty.

What you can ask as a buyer

  • Does the stone come from a supply chain subject to the Kimberley Process, and is the warranty on the invoice?
  • Does the dealer know the mine or at least the country of origin of the rough?
  • Is there a Diamond Origin Report or a comparable origin document from a laboratory for the stone?
  • Is the dealer licensed and registered – and where?

Not every question can be answered with a document for every stone; polished diamonds pass through many hands. A reputable dealer says what it can document and what it cannot.

Further initiatives alongside the Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process is the governmental foundation; the industry has developed its own standards on top of it. The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) certifies companies in the jewellery and gemstone trade against a code of practices covering human rights, working conditions and environmental matters. Individual producers run origin programmes that track stones from mine to polished and document them with an inscription or an origin report. Laboratories offer origin reports for which the rough is examined before cutting. None of these programmes replaces the Kimberley Process; they complement it where its definition ends.

How STIG International handles it

We source only diamonds whose origin is documented under the Kimberley Process, and we work with selected partner mines and established supply chains. As a company registered in the DMCC free zone in Dubai we are subject to its compliance, KYC and anti-money-laundering rules. More on our certifications page.