The UK is not exactly known as the epicentre of diamond-mine country. So where do the diamonds for our fabulous ROX jewellery come from and how are they mined? The short answer is far away and ethically.
Pure carbon + colossal pressure + millions of years = rough diamonds (which can lose 50% of their weight once cut) for export. Sounds simple doesn’t it? In reality this equation is exceptionally rare. Once a potential site is identified there are three factors to consider when judging the merits of moving forward – how stable is the land around the site? How environmentally damaging would it be to mine the area? And finally, what type of terrain must actually be mined?
In 1867 diamonds were unearthed in the Cape Colony of South Africa, drastically altering the global diamond market forever. South Africa is, to this day, the largest exporter of diamonds in the world. Prolific diamond mining nations are Angola, Australia, Borneo, Botswana, Canada, Congo, India (where diamonds have been mined for over 2,800 years), Lesotho, Namibia, Russia, Siberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
An industry concern amongst diamond jewellery producers is the ever-present issue of conflict diamonds. Here at ROX we’ve included a special webpage to help explain a) the nature and origins of conflict diamonds, and b) a written promise to you that all our diamonds are sourced ethically. You can also be sure that diamonds from our partners like Pandora jewellery, Links jewellery and Stephen Webster jewellery carry the same promise.
