How can you tell when someone is telling the truth? How do you know if what you see online is legitimate? These are good questions to ask for any online purchase you make, but especially if you’re buying jewelry with diamonds online.
Brilliant Earth is an online jewelry retailer that specializes in ethically-sourced and conflict-free diamonds. Many Brilliant Earth reviews state that this was the primary reason for their purchase. Were these customers duped, or were they told the truth? Let’s examine this company’s claims to determine their legitimacy.
We’ll begin by looking at how they define the type of diamonds they sell.
Brilliant Earth states that they sell “beyond conflict-free” diamonds. This is their term, and they use it to describe the fact that their diamonds not only meet the definition of conflict-free but exceed it. The traditional definition for a conflict-free diamond is one that adheres to the Kimberley Process. The Kimberley Process specifies that a conflict-free diamond is one that hasn’t been used to finance rebel movements. Beyond conflict-free diamonds, on the other hand, include this definition and then go a step further. They are diamonds that come from mines that maintain safe and responsible labor practices and protect against human rights abuses. Furthermore, these mines work to minimize their environmental impact and support community development. This means that Brilliant Earth isn’t just committed to meeting the accepted standard for diamonds but exceeding it.
Next, let’s look at Brilliant Earth’s suppliers.
Brilliant Earth works with only a small group of suppliers. They are strict in their selection, which is why the group is so small. They will only work with suppliers who use a chain of custody protocol as well as secure tracking and inventory systems. Furthermore, they employ transformational blockchain technology to smoothly and securely track gemstone origin. Additionally, suppliers must segregate their diamonds according to origin to prove that they come from either Russia, Canada, or the countries in Botswana Sort. Brilliant Earth only takes diamonds that come from mines in these countries. This is because they can verify that the mines conform to their standards. Let’s take a closer look at the mines in these countries.
Diamonds from Canada come from either the Diavik or the Ekati mines. These mines have made a commitment to upholding the highest human rights and environmental standards. Additionally, they offer a skilled apprenticeship program, hire local Aboriginal people, and finance scholarships.
From Russia, diamonds originate in the Yakutia region of northeast Siberia and the Arkhangelsk region along with the White Sea coats. These mines adhere to international safety and responsible mining practices. They are also central to providing jobs for residents in these areas. They offer above-average salaries, in addition to housing benefits, pensions, and health care benefits.
The diamonds that come from Botswana Sort are mainly from Botswana, but they also come from mines in Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa. These mines provide funding for local infrastructure, education, and health care. They’re also committed to the environment and are actively working to reduce their footprint. Also, these mines adhere to internationally recognized environmental and labor standards.
From this overview, we can see that Brilliant Earth selects mines that uphold its “beyond conflict-free” standards.
Taking into account that Brilliant Earth requires more than just the standard definition of conflict-free from their diamonds, we know that they care about how their diamonds are sourced. That they are rigorous in selecting their suppliers means that they don’t trust just anybody to uphold their beyond conflict-free philosophy. They require robust proof that the diamonds originate from mines that adhere to their standards. This is why they only buy from three countries, and within those countries, only the mines they have verified. They know a lot about the mines they buy from, ensuring that these mines maintain the beyond conflict-free criteria. For these reasons, it’s safe to assume that Brilliant Earth is the real deal. If they were a scam, they could simply state that they had ethically sourced and conflict-free diamonds. Instead, they give detailed, verifiable information explaining where their diamonds come from and how they get them. So you can rest assured that when you buy from Brilliant Earth, you’re buying legitimate.
