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JCK Retail Panel on "Blood Diamond" Impact
February 13, 2007

De Beers managing director Gareth Penny, asked Friday about the impact of the "Blood Diamond" movie at the De Beers teleconference, said it had "no discernable impact" on diamond sales. The results of our JCK retail panel survey seem to back that up; we'll have the complete results in a future issue of the magazine, but here are some highlights below. Keep in mind this is not a scientific survey, but a sampling of a few hundred jewelers.

-  Did you have more customers asking questions about conflict diamonds this season?

Yes, a lot more  - 4.8%
Yes, a little more - 31.7%
About the same as usual  - 41.3%
Less than usual - 12.7%
No questions -  7.9%

- How aware are most of your customers about this issue?

Very aware - 3.9%
Somewhat aware - 44.2%
Unaware - 48%
Don't know. - 3.9%

-  Do you believe the movie impacted diamond sales in your area?

Yes, it hurt a lot. - 0.8%
Yes, it hurt somewhat - 4.6%
It had no impact - 78.5%
It helped diamond sales - 3.8%
Don't know/can't tell - 12.3%

-  Do you require your suppliers to verify your diamonds are conflict free?

Yes - 77%
No - 23%

Regarding that final question: When the World Diamond Council (using a real survey company) asked the same question, they got an answer of 88% -- somewhat higher than our number

That said, this is the third time JCK has asked the panel that question; the first time, in 2004, only 45% said yes. When we asked it again in 2005, we got a near identical number of 46.4%. Now, we are happy to say that the number has gone up significantly, but three quarters is still low. I don't want to say anything bad about people nice enough to fill out our JCK retail surveys, but come on, guys, one out of four not complying with Kimberley is still kind of lame. Asking your suppliers to only sell conflict-free diamonds is a relatively simple step; Jewelers of America, the Jewelers Vigilance Committee or diamondfacts can give you a form to do it. What are you waiting for -- "Blood Diamond," the TV series?!

(By the way, the documentary "Blood on the Stone," by filmmaker Sorious Samura, with its much talked about scene of a dealer buying diamonds without Kimberley certificates, will be part of the Blood Diamond DVD  -- a two-disc special edition! -- to be released Mar. 20.)

Posted by Rob Bates on February 13, 2007 | Comments (3)