Blog

Diamonds can bring huge benefits to countries, providing a stable and fair government that shares its wealth with the people. The shining light of this is Botswana, with diamond revenues making up 35 per cent of GDP.

Botswana now has a thriving diamond manufacturing industry, which has created thousands of jobs for the local community and has brought much prosperity and investment to Botswana and Gaborone. This has been used for the good of the people with excellent schooling, healthcare, employment and housing.

Changes and investment in the city of Gaborone are staggering, with a new diamond centre, many new diamond polishing facilities, hotels, offices, restaurants and infrastructure to support this.

Many of the site holders, which have opened facilities in Gaborone, not only employ hundreds of local people but also invest in community schemes such as schools and orphanages to give something back. There are similar schemes in South Africa and Namibia.

It is important to use a supplier who can guarantee the origin of their polished diamonds as being from South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, which makes these stones as ethical as Canadian and Australian diamonds. But they also have the added benefit of giving much needed revenue to poor countries and communities. It’s a wonderful story that retailers can share with their clients, making them feel good about their diamond purchases.