CANADA ROCKS: Like so many luxurious merchandise proper now, diamonds — pure and lab-grown — are having a tough time. The costs of each are down within the double-digits whereas the destiny of the best-known diamond model, De Beers, stays unsure with house owners Anglo American pondering a sale or spin-off.
The grim setting has achieved little to discourage the Canadians from touting their diamond trade and shut work with the Indigenous communities the place the mines are primarily based.
On March 19, representatives from Canada’s pure diamond trade gathered at Canada Home in London to speak about their work and talk about the small print of a brand new paper by the Pure Diamond Council about Canada, the third-largest diamond producing nation on the planet.
Boodles, the British jeweler that works with Canadian diamonds, took half within the occasion as did the actress Lily James, a world ambassador for the Pure Diamond Council, and Kateri Rose Lynn, a councillor for the group of Dettah, a part of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
A hoop from Boodles. The middle stone is from the Diavik mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
The brand new paper by the Pure Diamond Council mentioned Canada’s diamonds date again 3.5 billion years, making them the oldest on the planet. Regardless of the diamonds’ age, the primary mine solely opened there in 1998, so they’re nonetheless a comparatively new useful resource within the trade.
The Pure Diamond Council argues that as a result of the Canadians began so late, they have been capable of put constructive affect practices in place from the get-go.
As of 2024 all of Canada’s diamonds have been recovered from the arctic area of the Northwest Territories or NWT. Referred to as Denendeh, or “Land of the People11” within the Dene languages, the NWT is dwelling to 11 official languages, with greater than half of the inhabitants figuring out as Indigenous.
In response to the report, the diamond mines work intently with governments, native communities and Indigenous peoples to optimize their socioeconomic contributions and environmental stewardship, and be sure that the operations depart enduring advantages lengthy after mines have closed.
The diamond mines within the NWT have contributed a complete of 27.7 billion Canadian {dollars}, or round $21.8 billion, to the Canadian financial system since 1996, of which 8.63 billion Canadian {dollars}, or $6.8 billion, went to Indigenous-owned native corporations.
Lily James trying out the rocks on the Canadian diamond occasion at Canada Home in London.
PAUL MARTYNIUK
Because the starting of diamond restoration within the ‘90s, 70 % of procurement spend has been allotted to NWT-based companies, in keeping with the report.
“Canadian diamonds are a real testomony to moral luxurious. Their legacy is constructed on transparency and unparalleled craftsmanship,” mentioned David Kellie, chief government officer of the Pure Diamond Council.
Boodles, which had a few of its jewellery on present at Canada Home throughout the occasion, has hopped aboard the Canadian diamond practice, partnering with Rio Tinto’s Diavik mine, one of many world’s prime sources of ethically sourced, high quality diamonds.
In response to Boodles, mine operators work in excessive circumstances the place temperatures can drop as little as minus 40 levels Fahrenheit. Diavik makes use of renewable power, and operates one of many largest hybrid wind-diesel energy amenities at a distant mine web site. It additionally works to protect native wildlife and help area people organizations.
Different manufacturers with diamond jewellery on present included Dries Criel, Almod Diamonds, Misfit Diamonds, Gemporia, HRA Group, and Diacore. The reveals aimed to spotlight the diamonds’ journey from ethically sourced mines to jewellery items.