Awhile back, Mrs. Tomato mentioned Brilliant Earth in her post about conflict-free diamonds. I wanted to share my brother’s experience working with them on his fiancee’s engagement ring.
As both of them are laid-back individuals heavily interested (and involved) in sustainable development and social justice, my brother didn’t want to involve himself with DeBeers. However, he also knew that DeBeers or not, he wanted to get his lovely fiancee a diamond engagement ring.
After a bit of internet searching, he came across Brilliant Earth, and quickly settled on this ring:
White Gold Halo from Brilliant Earth
Less than 2 weeks later, it arrived at his friend’s apartment (my brother knew there was no way it could be delivered to their apartment, as his fiancee gets home from work before him), and a couple of weeks after that, they were engaged.
He’s thrilled with the ring, she’s thrilled with the ring, and they’re both happy that it was purchased from a company that provides diamonds ethically.
What are your thoughts about conflict-free jewelry?
Knowing my diamond if conflict-free was a huge thing for me. The idea of looking at my ring and knowing that someone may have suffered or been abused in the mining of my diamond is not my idea of a good time. My ring was purchased from Costco, I did my research to make sure that all of the jewelry they sell is conflict-free.
in my mind, there is no other way to go. another great place to get conflict-free stones is through Cred Jewlery http://www.cred.tv
My ring is Canadian – conflict free and eco minded in the digging! My fiance new it was a must for me. Kills me that the canadian diamond people don’t market it better! And “artisan” or man-made diamonds need to figure out how to be more competitive. They are the SAME freakin thing! No ONE – not even a jeweler can tell a difference – woohoo! Too bad they currently cost more than real diamonds. =(
We’re getting our ring from brilliant earth too! Eric (the co-owner) is so nice to work with. Customer service is great, prices are good, and the ring is conflict-free and made from recycled metals. Awesome!
I received a lovely ring from greenKarat, which is all about sustainable, conflict-free jewelry. I knew from the start that I wanted a non-traditional ring and could not be happier.
I’ve researched heavily into the certification scheme that does surround conflict-free diamonds. I hold that I do not believe that any diamond, no matter how much they tell you, can honestly be called conflict free. The Kimberley Process (KPCS) is not advanced enough or monitored enough to be effective. The documents that certify diamonds as conflict-free can be easily forged or lost or picked up along the way. They really have a lot of way to go and while I understand that in an ideal world that would be great, it’s just not happening and I fear it will never be. Remember don’t believe everything the media tells you…sorry to sound pessimistic.
It is very important to me to at least try to be conflict free (knowing there are no guarantees, as ‘zilla mentioned). My fiance bought from a local jeweler that sources the diamonds directly (no DeBeers involvement) and yes, certifies their diamonds as conflict-free. I wanted to support the local economy, too, and avoid a chain store.
This was my only request with my engagement and wedding ring. I also wanted the gold to be existing, so that more gold wouldn’t be mined. My fiance got me a gorgeous antique setting at an estate jewelry store. I’ve never been fond of diamonds (weird, I know), so I have a domestically-mined sapphire.
Thanks for bringing the issue up – so many people are unaware of the human and environmental abuses associated with the gold and gemstone mining industries.
I guess I don’t believe the “no guarantees” school of thought. If you don’t want a conflict diamond, buy a Canadian diamond like Michelle. My diamond is also Canadian. My sister has a Russian diamond. I wanted not only a diamond that was conflict free, but that wasn’t mined by people living in poverty and under inhumane conditions.
I’m not a big fan of diamonds to begin with so when I found out about all the conflicts related to them my intrest in them was worn down even more. So I was very happy my FI understood and I now have a beautiful blue topaz (much larger than any diamond he could afford) ring that I adore.
As a previous commenter posted, my main requirement was that my ring was as conflict-free “as possible”. My ring contains Israeli diamonds. Love the fact that this is being talked about a bit more on Weddingbee!
My ring is from Brillint Earth and I love it.
For many reasons, I didn’t want a diamond ring, so I got a silver engagement band and a violin when the hubs proposed. 
Our wedding bands are recycled gold from GreenKarat. No diamonds = guarantee of no conflict, and recycled gold means we didn’t support direct gold mining (which is an environmental nightmare), either.
I’m also glad this is being discussed more. Three years ago when we were talking engagement, this information was tough to find.
Love it! I adore my engagement ring, but I get a little guilty wondering whether or not it’s conflict-free. I will definately be bringing this company up to the FI when we’re looking for wedding rings. Thanks!
I think it is important to know that your diamond is comflict-free. Unfortunately (but not really), I have no idea if mine is conflict free or not. Regardless, I do LOVE my ring but it would have given me a piece of mind.
Mr. Radish is actually a long-time human rights activist and he now teaches college classes on human rights (as well as anthropology) so getting a conflict-free diamond was very important to him.
I wasn’t involved in the process of choosing the diamond, as it was a surprise, but he spent months researching and looking for the right stone.
He came across a lot of problems similar to what ‘zilla mentioned. In the end he went with and antique diamond because he really didn’t trust the so-called “conflict-free diamonds.”
I have to agree with ‘zilla that you have to be careful about it, as it all does sound a bit like a clever marketing scheme at times. Kind of like a lot of things that are marketed as being “green” just because it can have a higher price tag as such.
In the case of Brilliant Earth, I *think* it’s legit. If I’m not mistaken they get their diamonds from Canadian mines… which don’t have any big human rights abuses associated with them – just a bit of gentrification. I really don’t see how you can have environmentally-friendly mining, though…. that seems like an oxy-moron to me.
Anyway, you have to take all of this kind of stuff with a healthy dose of skepticism and do the research to make sure it’s for real. There are too many people out there with questionable ethics who are not above trying to make a quick buck off of your good intentions.
My ring is from Cred Jewellery and was designed by my FH. I love it. And love remembering when he gave it to me he said that he never wanted to give me something that had caused anyone pain or suffering.
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Both my rings were my grandmother’s and, thankfully, didn’t need resizing. We have been discussing getting a matching wedding ring to engrave with our initials and date (since hers is already full of engraving inside), and it’s important to us to get either matching antique diamonds or something man-made. Neither of us wants to support DeBeers in any way, even through their Canadian mines.
Finding something conflict free was important. We hadn’t heard of Brilliant Earth when we were looking at rings, so we went with a man made stone (moissanite) instead. I have looked at them for wedding bands though.
Ms. Dahlia, Detroit/Cleveland Age and Occupation: 24, PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, IT System Administrator Engagement Date: December 31, 2006 Wedding Date: May 2008 Blogging Since: September 19, 2007 Venue: United Methodist Cathedral & historic downtown hotel in Cleveland About Me: I enjoy cooking, dancing and swimming. I am a geek and apply game theory to my everyday life. Winter is my favorite time of year, especially when spent curled up with good coffee and a book by Madeleine L'Engle.
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