The violent history of diamonds until its peace with David Locco

In 1869, by the banks of a South African river, a tired worker ventured into the waters to refresh a little bit after a long day at work. A glimmer of light made him bend over and pick up what seemed to be a diamond. What was for him a charming discovery, triggered the tragic and violent history of diamonds as we know it today.

Its origins in India and the beginning of the war

2800 years ago, in the heart of India, little bright stones that captivated the gazes of everyone that came across them, were discovered. It was not long until they reached the hands of royal families, becoming their symbols of power.

Through trade routes, these diamonds came to Europe to decorate the outfits and palaces of the elite.

Thousands of years later, when the existence of diamond mines in other countries was unveiled, India was no longer considered the only country in the world in possession of these jewels. A big site was found in Brazil, but South Africa’s sites attracted people’s need of conquering them as no other.

The main suitors to dance with South Africa were Great Britain and the boers, a group of colonizers of Dutch and German origin that inhabited the area. This war ended with England’s victory.

Victorious and with their pockets full of diamonds, the English went back to their motherland.

For their misfortune, they saw that the excessive supply of those stones ended with their rarity and exotism, as well as their demand. They quickly sold the mines, as a business without demand is a dead business.

It was then that an important British man decided to buy most of these mines.

The manipulation of the diamond market and its conflicts

This mining tycoon founded a very well-known jewellery company that is still active today, although it is true that their past was more than bloodstained.

By gaining the monopoly of the extraction of diamonds in the South African region as well as Sierra Leone and Namibia, he added to his powers the capability of controlling the supply of diamonds in his whole sector. Thus, the news that reached the wealthy countries capable of buying jewellery, were of great scarcity, which increased their rarity and value, and the desire of everyone to have a piece of that brand.

This manipulation of the market and the clientele nowadays would be prohibited in most countries of the world by trade laws.

Furthermore, the great demand of the stones led to their smuggling, increasing the number of social conflicts in these regions, where diamonds were used as currency for buying war weapons. The impact of these wars shakes the history of African countries to this day.

The bad reputation of diamonds

Not without reason, these beautiful diamonds earned a terrible reputation and the nickname “blood diamonds” due to all the ills they caused: wars, child exploitation, irreversible environmental effects...

In the year 2000, The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme or KPCS was established, a certificate that guarantees that the mined diamonds which are acquired in the jewellery brands that hold it, do not come from conflict countries. Currently, between 97% and 99% of the diamond market takes place in countries that are part of this plan.

Ethical diamonds and David Locco

However, the traceability of mined diamonds is blurry and tangled, without being able to guarantee completely that their origin is ethical and respecting human rights at all times, assuming that their extraction is damaging to the Earth in any case.

That is why in 1954 the creation of diamonds in laboratories began, mainly for industrial purposes. Despite the fact that this took place more than half a century ago, created diamonds did not make it to the jewellery industry until the last decades.

This is where David Locco was born.

Moved by the dream of transforming luxury into something ethical, David Locco bet from the beginning on created diamonds, marvellous stones whose traceability, completely transparent and sustainable, peaceful friend of the planet, would turn the jewellery world around like never before.

That is how a stunning star of nature, with a violent history behind, evolves now to become a role model of self-improvement and perseverance.