Jewellery World Magazine - April 2022

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Alrosa RUSSIAN DIAMONDS Is the jewellery industry doing enough? As Russia’s devastating war on Ukraine drags on, the question of Russian diamonds becomes a legal and moral quandary for everyone in the supply chain. Almost all Russian diamonds come from Alrosa. The company produces the majority of the world’s rough diamond and 90 percent of Russia’s rough. It is responsible for 28 percent of global supply. The miner is one-third owned by the Russian Federation. Another third is controlled by regional governments such as the Russian republic of Yakutia where many of its mines are located. Alrosa’s corporate leadership has close ties to the Kremlin. The company and its chief executive, Sergei Ivanov, were personally targeted by US sanctions. Ivanov’s father, Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, is one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s closest allies and was formerly a KGB colonel general, a Russian minister of defence and a Putin chief of staff. Alrosa is a major source of income for its state-owned shareholder. The company reported sales of $4.16 billion in 2021 with Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov a net profit of 91 billion rubles (AUD $1.2 billion). Blood diamonds And literally overnight, the Russian gems have become conflict diamonds. Christine Villegas, director of the Mines to Markets program at Pact, a development NGO, says that Russian diamonds do not fit the narrowest industry definition Alrosa of ‘conflict diamond’ and worries that some players in governments and the industry will continue to trade based on this ‘loophole’. The Kimberley Process (KP) says the phrase refers to diamonds which are used to fund rebel groups — not, specifically, nations that invade other sovereign nations — but they clearly fit the spirit of the term, says Villegas. “They’re funding an armed conflict against a peaceful neighbour, by a state actor,” she said. “These things take time to settle on new definitions. But the silence is striking – and it’s hard not to presume it’s because much of the industry is hoping that this goes away or it’s forgotten.” Many major industry groups have not yet issued statements on whether responsible buyers should continue buying Russian diamonds. Sanctions On 11 March, US president Joe Biden issued an executive order restricting the import of Russian diamonds into the US. A day later, a clarification was issued. The ban was limited to the US importation of Russian rough diamonds and diamonds polished in Russia. The order placed no restrictions on the US importation of polished diamonds sourced from Russian rough but polished outside Russia. Key industry figures, such as Martin Rapaport, founder of RapNet, believe this will do nothing to halt the flow of Russian gems. “The sanctions – unless they deepen – are not going to affect the normal business,” he said, in a presentation to the industry. This is because the vast majority of Russian stones are exported rough. Most will then progress through the system to India, which cuts and 34 jewellery world - <strong>April</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
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Jewellery World Magazine - April 2022

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