To help maintain the integrity of our supply chain, Tiffany & Co. established Laurelton Diamonds, a wholly owned subsidiary that procures rough diamonds and manages our worldwide supply chain that sources, cuts, polishes and supplies finished diamonds to Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. sources the majority of our diamonds directly from mines in Australia, Botswana, Canada, Namibia, Russia and South Africa, and we cut and polish those diamonds in Laurelton facilities.
Tiffany & Co. believes that diamonds should benefit the economies and societies of diamond-producing countries. We invest in manufacturing operations as well as employee development and training programs at our cutting and polishing facilities in Belgium, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Vietnam.
Tiffany & Co. purchases diamonds only from those countries that are full participants in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). Further, in Fiscal Year 2010, over 80% of serialized diamonds in Tiffany & Co.’s inventory were purchased directly either from a mine or a supplier that only sources from known mines.
THE KIMBERLEY PROCESS
The Kimberley Process is an international cooperative monitoring system created by governments, industry and civil society to eliminate the flow of “conflict diamonds”—rough diamonds that are smuggled by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The Kimberley Process requires participating countries to tightly control the import and export of rough diamonds. Also, the KPCS requires governments to establish control systems over private sector trade in rough diamonds. To comply with this process, rough diamonds may only move among participating countries in sealed containers with accompanying documentation evidencing that the diamonds are “conflict-free.”
We applaud the creation of the KPCS, built upon the cooperative efforts of governments, the diamond industry and nongovernmental organizations. We are encouraged by the progress that has been made since the system was put in place in 2003. Nevertheless, it is clear that much work remains to be done.
Most importantly, Tiffany & Co. believes, along with many in the diamond industry, that the Kimberley mandate should be expanded to ensure that human rights abuses are not associated with diamond mining in any member country. We also urge changes in the peer review process to provide for compliance assessment and monitoring that is independent and avoids conflicts of commercial and political interest. Finally, we believe it is prudent to reconsider the current “consensus” decision-making process that governs the Kimberley Process and has, at times, proven challenging for appropriate and timely responses to noncompliance.
Tiffany was quick to respond to the human rights
crisis unfolding in Zimbabwe’s diamond fields.
It publicly assured its customers that it would
not buy diamonds from Zimbabwe and urged for
reforms to the Kimberley Process so that it
could better safeguard human rights. Tiffany is an
example that other retailers should follow.
- Arvind Ganesan, Director – Business and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch
CONCERNING ZIMBABWE
Regarding the widely reported human rights abuses in the Marange diamond district of Zimbabwe, Tiffany & Co. joins with other responsible jewelers in condemning those abuses and urges other industry participants to refuse to purchase diamonds sourced from this district. Although the quality of Marange diamonds generally falls below Tiffany & Co.’s minimum quality levels, we have advised all of our business partners of our zero tolerance policy for diamonds of Marange origins.