Diamond jewellery is interwoven with the most disturbing themes. Work conditions in diamond mines and cutting factories have always been bad. The conditions which prevailed in the 17th century India and the 20th century South Africa have remained the same. In the 17th century India, mines south of Hyderabad had 50000 workers on very low wages and consisted of men, women and children. These days the conditions in Brazil in this millennium have miners who do not find a diamond in one year.
Diamond miners worked bare-bodied so that their physical inspection became easy, and they are prevented from concealing diamonds in clothing. In south Africa, the bodily cavities are scanned through x-rays. Some of the entire villages were transported from India to mines. In south Africa, migrants joined mines. The technology and scale to do mining have changed, but not the opression of workers.
In 1860, diamonds in South Africa were obtained from volcanic deposits underground. The mines were open pit. Most mines were in alluvial river sites. A fence was built to regulate entries and exits. The two-track system had open pit mines and alluvial mines. There were risks of being buried alive or risk of drowning. It was blood, sweat and earth.
Diamond polishing factories in India are not healthy. Lungs and eyes of the workers get affected.
In Canada, lakes care being drained of water to wash the debris of the mines. The land is deprived of trees. There are big man-made holes filled with water. There are abandoned craters where diamonds were mined. In river mining, soil is removed from riverbeds. Forests and farmlands are devastated.
People are attracted to natural deposits to find diamonds. The conditions remain the same for a couple of centuries. Families are after diamonds to save them from misery. It is perhaps a hope for them.
Synthetic diamonds can lessen the disastrous impact. Synthetic diamonds are widely used in industry and technological appliances — from surgical knives created with tiny diamonds to watches, compasses and bulbs.
The extensive utilization of diamonds is to make jewellery. It is associated with abuse and blood diamonds. These are used to finance the weapon deals. It is prudent to use lab diamonds to stopthe abuse of natural diamonds. Synthetic diamonds are clean. They are not tainted by the blood of workers. They neither affect the environment. Can they replace the natural diamonds?
As such, companies themselves will not stop mining. A certain percentage of people can be re-established. Natural diamonds are considered authentic. Lab diamonds too are real — only made in the labs rather than found in nature. Some think that though indistinguishable from each other, lab diamonds are fake. They are after the real thing. As long as people are poor, they will risk everything to find that real diamond find that real diamond.
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