The Canadian Diamond Story So Far
Canadian diamonds are highly desirable, offering the world’s highest environmental standards. They are conflict-free with a certification process that allows the diamond to be tracked from the mine through to diamond cutting and wholesaling onto your bespoke jewellery piece.
History of the Canadian Diamond
Diamonds were first discovered in Canada during the 1990s, triggering one of the biggest prospecting rushes in recent history. In just a few short years, Canada has established itself as one of the world’s largest producers of rough diamonds, ranking 5th in the world and 3rd for value.
Mining a Canadian diamond is a massive challenge because of the harsh arctic conditions requiring specialised and costly machinery. The mines are also in a remote location with no proper infrastructure to reach them, only dangerous icy roads.
There is also an additional cost in bringing a Canadian diamond to market. Firstly, the Canadian government impose massive tariffs on the mining companies then there is higher labour cost due to the locations of the mines. Finally, the way Canadian diamonds are marketed for transparency, each step of the manufacturing process has to be audited, adding significantly to their cost. Like with any other product brought to market, the consumer picks up these additional costs.
What makes a Canadian diamond special?
Let’s first deal with the myths. Canadian diamonds are not “More Beautiful.” or “Better Quality.” than diamonds mined in other parts of the world because a diamond is a diamond. The Canadian rough comes in all shapes, clarity, colour and carat sizes.
What sets them apart from diamonds mined in other parts of the world are the strict environmental laws imposed by the Canadian government. These stringent regulations on mining companies are there to protect wildlife, water and fishing habitats of the mining environment.
So Should you buy a Canadian diamond?
It comes down to your personal preferences and your belief system. It is subjective to different people to say whether it is worth paying a premium for a Canadian diamond. If environmental mining practices are your number one priority, then a Candian diamond will tick all your boxes. Each stone comes with a blue certificate alongside the GIA Certificate. It tells you the mine your stone came from and the original rough.
Conflict free diamonds
The civil war in Sierra Leone is long over with the collective effort of international communities to implement the Kimberly Process curtailing the sale of conflict diamonds.
So whatever you might read or tell a jewellery retailer, conflict-free diamonds are not exclusive to a Canadian diamond. Therefore, a Canadian diamond, in my opinion, should only be considered on environmental grounds. Or if you find it relatively cool to know exactly where your diamond came from
If you have any questions or want some free independent advice, please get in touch with me via email, Skype, or phone or leave a comment below. I would love to hear your opinions about buying Canadian diamonds.
