Jewelry ethics remains a head ache for the jewelry industry which faces ever new challenges in this field. For instance, mass media give an ample coverage of “conflict diamonds” pinning the theme to the diamond which was possibly given to Naomi Campbell as a gift by Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, now facing trial.
A new BBC reality show that aims to show the ugly side of producing luxury goods has debuted with a down-and-dirty look at gemstone mining, according to a report by National Jeweler.
The description of Blood, Sweat and Luxuries, which premiered last night on BBC3 makes it sound like the second coming of canceled Paris Hilton reality show The Simple Life, but it's hardly meant to get viewers laughing.
The premise of the show is to send six young British consumers to far-flung places to work alongside the people who mine, manufacture, process and recycle luxury goods, according to the BBC's Web site.
The inspiration behind the show is to get the characters - and viewers - thinking more about the human cost of that shiny sapphire necklace in the display case, or the new leather handbag they've been eyeing online.
For the first episode, producers packed up the six rich Brits and shipped them off to the isolated mining town of Ilakaka, Madagascar, where they dig for sapphires in an open-pit mine and are lowered down a 50-foot deep mine shaft accessed by a rope-and-pulley system.
As a TV reviewer for British newspaper The Guardian writes, the participants "have a collective moment of realization: 'Oh my God, the world is totally so unfair.' One of them even has a pop at the European gem dealer for making all the money while the guys at the mines do all the work for a pound a day."
The next part of Blood, Sweat and Luxuries is set to look at the labor that's involved in making leather goods in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This isn't the only time in recent months that the jewelry industry has been cast in a negative light on television.
In November, CBS News' 60 Minutes reported that gold revenues are helping to fund a violent conflict in the Congo, putting the industry on the hot seat for lacking a universal system that tracks the source of gold used to manufacture jewelry.
According to diamonds.net, four more jewelry companies joined the No Dirty Gold campaign, which now includes 70 jewelry firms representing more than $14 billion in annual sales across the U.S.
As is known, a number of U.S. jewelry companies are fighting against the Pebble copper mine in Alaska to be build by Anglo. The mine opponents say it will be harmful for the natural environment of salmons. The campaigners assumed obligations not to buy gold if it will be mined at Pebble.
In the end of April the adverse party went in counterattack. According to israelidiamond.co.il, nonprofit organization Truth About Pebble is calling upon national jewelers, such as Zales Corporation, to renounce their boycott of gold from the proposed Pebble prospect and evaluate the project’s full picture and economic potential for Southwest Alaska.
Truth About Pebble is further encouraging dialogue to take place among these leaders with the Truth group, residents from the communities closest to the project and/or the leaders of the Pebble Partnership in order to broaden understanding of the economic realities in Southwest Alaska and balance misinformation distributed regarding the status of Pebble.
“There is no widely accepted, independent certification system to assure retailers or consumers where the gold they purchase is sourced, which is precisely why this appears to be nothing more than a publicity stunt,” said Truth About Pebble board member Toni Logan-Goodrich, Vice President of Oxford Assaying and Refining. “Zales has nothing to lose by making such a pledge. What’s the risk in pledging to boycott gold that doesn’t yet exist, especially when it’s nearly impossible to determine or to control the source of the gold purchased?”
Finally, as israelidiamond.co.il reports, Chopard, one of the world's leading watch and jewelry brands and diamond laboratory HRD Antwerp have joined more than 200 companies and trade associations as members of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
Under the RJC System, all Commercial Members of the RJC are required to be audited by accredited, third party auditors to verify their conformance with the RJC’s Code of Practices to become certified.
“Chopard’s membership of the RJC will reinforce the Council’s mission of responsible business practices amongst large and small industry players,” says Michael Rae, the RJC’s Chief Executive Officer.
