DreamStone Conflict-Free Diamond Policy

DreamStone's long standing commitment to conflict-free diamonds is a zero tolerance policy. We only purchase diamonds from legal sources that comply with the Kimberley Process, an international diamond industry and civil society initiative to ensure diamonds are free from sources of conflict.

DreamStone Guarantees Conflict-Free Diamonds

Conflict-free diamonds are diamonds which are guaranteed not to be obtained through use of violence, human rights abuses, child labor or environmental destruction. While the United Nation's Kimberly Process only ensures that diamonds come from legitimate and recognized governments, conflict-free diamonds address more by individually tracking every diamond from their origin through their full chain of custody to ensure that ethical practices are used in mining, cutting, and polishing.

Blood Diamonds

Blood diamonds, also called, "conflict diamonds," are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold, in order to finance an insurgency, aiding an army's war efforts, or supporting a warlord's activity. In 1998, the United Nations placed Angola under sanctions forbidding countries from buying diamonds from them. This was the first resolution of the UN which specifically mentioned diamonds in the context of funding the war. Since then, the UN has taken many steps to combat blood diamonds, that by 1999 the illegal diamond trade was estimated by the World Diamond Council to have been reduced to 3 percent of world's diamond production, and by 2004 this percentage had fallen to approximately 1 percent.

The Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, also known as the KPCS is a process established in 2003 to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources known to be conflict-free. This process helps prevent rebel groups and their rivals from financing their war aims from diamond sales. The certification aims at preventing these blood diamonds from entering the mainstream rough diamond market.

Requirements of KPCS

The requirements of the KPCS are as follows:

> Each shipment of rough diamonds crossing an international border must be:

* Transported in a tamper-resistant container;

* Accompanied by a government-validated Kimberley Process Certificate;

> Each certificate must be resistant o forgery, uniquely numbered and described the shipment's content's;

> The shipment can only be exported to another KPCS participant country;

> It is illegal for uncertified shipments of rough diamonds to either be imported or exported by KPCS participant country;

> Failure to comply with these procedures an lead to confiscation or rejection f parcels and/or criminal sanctions; and

> If any concern rise regarding country's adherence to the KPCS, they must be investigated nd dealt with at an international level.

The DreamStone Initiative Goes Beyond The Kimberly Process

At DreamStone, we manufacture many of our own diamonds; we are one of the few retailers in the United States that carries a cutting and manufacturing license in South Africa. Since we are the source, DreamStone has first hand knowledge of the origins of our rough diamonds and that they are conflict free. Our internal principles exceed government regulations with the following initiatives:

To trade only with companies that have conflict-free warranty declarations on their invoices;

To not buy diamonds from suspect sources or unknown suppliers, or which originate in countries that have not implemented the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme;

To not buy diamonds of any sources that have been found to have violated government regulations regarding on conflict diamonds;

To not knowingly buy or sell or assist others to buy or sell conflict diamonds;

To ensure that all company employees that buy or sell diamonds are well informed regarding trade resolutions and government regulations.

We understand that our customers care about where their diamonds are coming from and sure that concern with you. This is why we strive to ensure the highest standards in the industry to provide conflict-free diamonds to all our customers.