Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Mar 27/02) - Blood and conflict should be the farthest thing from a bride-to-be's mind when she's picking out a sparkler. So diamond nations want to guarantee gem origins without too much mud-slinging.

"If you build a brand on negative image you promote negativity," says the Northwest Territories' director of diamonds, Martin Irving.

So diamond dealers from 37 diamond nations met in Ottawa last week to decide how to protect the diamond trade from the dirty little secret that's been let out of the bag.

They don't want their gems confused with those coming from African countries that use diamond money to finance wars and buy guns. There's concern that diamonds' sparkle will be dulled with all the bad publicity. They want to build an international system of tracking and reporting diamond movements.

The meetings were dubbed the Kimberley Process.

"Each country agrees to seal and certify exported diamonds and receiving countries will only accept certified diamonds," said Irving.

The certification guarantees diamonds' origins and lets consumers know if the gems are from a conflict country. Canadian dealers want to bank on the notion that diamond buyers romanticize the Northern ice and snow and wilderness. They don't want to press the conflict-blood diamond issue too hard.

That's deja vu for Canadians who felt the sting of negative campaigning that all but killed the fur trade. And it's why diamond dealers are jumping to reassure consumers of diamonds' origins.

"The luxury goods business is not necessarily avoiding the issue of conflict diamonds, it's demonstrating your product is ethically and environmentally and living wage derived," said Aber Diamonds vice-president of marketing Matthew Manson.

Branding diamonds and offering certificates of authenticity is high on diamond marketers' minds these days after the few years of negative publicity surrounding blood diamonds.

"We feel very much that the diamond business generally is going to grow on the basis of brands," said Matthews. He explained that diamonds are the only luxury item that is sold generically. "You don't walk into a handbag store any more and buy a generic handbag. You buy a Gucci bag."

So Aber has tied itself in with one of the elite names in the jewelry business.

"In Tiffany's case it's on the blue box. That's their most recognizable signature element," said Matthews referring to the company that will buy $50 million per year of Aber's diamonds once Diavik diamond mine starts to produce. Aber Diamonds is 40 percent owner of the Diavik mine. Tiffany's revenue has more than doubled in less than 10 years because of its swanky image marketing.

Matthews warned that Canadians can't be too smug, "If we as Canadian diamond producers start playing on the fact that our diamonds are somehow better than somebody else's diamonds then we all lose."

There are still a few roadblocks to overcome before a certification scheme is final. International trade law is one of them.

And it probably won't be long before somebody figures out how to counterfeit certification documents.