Rio Tinto | Minerals and Metals for the world

Forever immaculate?
To maintain the sparkling reputation of its products, the diamond industry is striving vigorously to build ever higher standards of stewardship - but there are difficulties to be overcome.

When England soccer captain David Beckham made an offer to movie icon Elizabeth Taylor for the legendary 33.19 carat Krupp diamond ring given to her by Richard Burton, because he wanted it as a present for his wife Victoria, the response was unequivocal. "David will be welcome to buy the diamond for Victoria," came Ms Taylor's answer, "but only after I am dead."

Thus a newspaper story alleged. Whether a truth or a tabloid fiction, this tale linking the famous Burton-Taylor duo with the couple's latter day media counterparts illustrates the enduring power of our attachment to the most valuable of all the metals and minerals - the diamond.

Today over half a billion men and women around the globe own at least one piece of diamond jewellery and in the US, the world's largest market for diamond jewellery, 85 per cent of women possess one or more items of jewellery containing the precious stone.

Yet for all the store man has set by this naturally occurring, chemically stable, non toxic form of carbon over the centuries - examples of the gem set into jewellery have been found dating back 5,000 years - what do diamonds actually do for us? "Diamonds are sublimely useless," writes Matthew Hart, in his book Diamond - The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair. "You cannot eat them or drive them home..."



Forever immaculate? To maintain the sparkling reputation of its products, the diamond industry is striving vigorously to build ever higher standards of stewardship - but there are difficulties to be overcome. When England soccer captain David Beckham made an offer to movie icon Elizabeth Taylor for the legendary 33.19 carat Krupp diamond ring given to her by Richard Burton, because he wanted it as a present for his wife Victoria, the response was unequivocal. "David will be welcome to buy the diamond for Victoria," came Ms Taylor's answer, "but only after I am dead." Thus a newspaper story alleged. Whether a truth or a tabloid fiction, this tale linking the famous Burton-Taylor duo with the couple's latter day media counterparts illustrates the enduring power of our attachment to the most valuable of all the metals and minerals - the diamond. Today over half a billion men and women around the globe own at least one piece of diamond jewellery and in the US, the world's largest market for diamond jewellery, 85 per cent of women possess one or more items of jewellery containing the precious stone. Yet for all the store man has set by this naturally occurring, chemically stable, non toxic form of carbon over the centuries - examples of the gem set into jewellery have been found dating back 5,000 years - what do diamonds actually do for us? "Diamonds are sublimely useless," writes Matthew Hart, in his book Diamond - The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair. "You cannot eat them or drive them home..."
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Review is published by Rio Tinto, 6 St James' Square, London SW1Y 4LD, England Telephone +44 (0)20 7930 2399 Editor: Cherry DeGeer