# Conflict diamonds

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 8, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611 "2005-09-08T02:41:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611/1 "2005-09-08T02:41:41Z")

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Watching the James Bond flick “Tomorrow Never Dies” there is talk about Conflict Diamonds; precious gems fueling the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone.

The world community has boycotted these gems in order to stop the wars, but there are those who smuggle them out to pass them off as legitimate stones.

Bond says certain stones are chemically identical to conflict diamonds.

Aren’t diamonds just carbon? How DO they tell if its a conflict diamond?

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**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611/2 "2005-09-08T05:14:47Z")

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> [@UN.org](#):
>
> How can a conflict diamond be distinguished from a legitimate diamond?
> 
> A well-structured ‘Certificate of Origin’ regime can be an effective way of ensuring that only legitimate diamonds – that is, those from government-controlled areas – reach market. Additional controls by Member States and the diamond industry are needed to ensure that such a regime is effective. These measures might include the standardization of the certificate among diamond exporting countries, transparency, auditing and monitoring of the regime and new legislation against those who fail to comply.

No mention of any physical differences. Methinks 007 needs to leave the science to Q.

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**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611/3 "2005-09-08T05:16:29Z")

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I’m watching it too!

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611/4 "2005-09-08T05:31:59Z")

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Well, [in theory](http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/diamond/2002/0810science.htm)…

> [@](#):
>
> James Farquhar of the University of Maryland in College Park and his colleagues announced at the recent AGU meeting that diamonds formed during different geological periods have variable abundances of rare sulfur isotopes within these inclusions. The scientists managed to find specific sulfur-isotope ratios common to eight diamonds known to be from a single mine in Botswana yet not to the other diamonds tested. The researchers, however, have yet to apply the technique to diamonds from any conflict zone.

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conflict-diamonds/320611/5 "2005-09-08T15:11:59Z")

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> [@Enola Straight](#):
>
> Watching the James Bond flick “Tomorrow Never Dies” ?

Make that “Die another Day” :rolleyes: