The trade in so-called blood diamonds from Angola, Central Africa, Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone was more or less prevented by an international certification system called Kimberly from the year 2000.
It is different with the similarly coveted rubies. They have been mined in a single valley in Myanmar around the city of Mogok for centuries and mostly resold via Thailand. The most valuable and sought-after rubies in the world come from Mogok. But there is blood on them because the Myanmar military junta is financed by trading the stones.
The colonial rulers’ rubies
This is now proven by the NGO Global Witness and claims that auction houses such as Sotheby’s and luxury brands such as Graff, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels are selling the precious stones that were recently mined in Myanmar, bringing the military junta money because they control the mining rights and has quasi nationalized the gemstone trade. However, it is also possible that many of these rubies were still marketed by the British colonial rulers in what was then Burma.
The good news: Brands like Cartier, Tiffany, Signet, Boodles and Harry Winston say they no longer sell stones from Myanmar today.
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