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# Diamonds in the rough No bad blood among local jewelers over recent ‘Diamond’ film
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/diamonds-in-the-rough-no-bad-blood-among-local-jewelers-over-recent-diamond-film/
- Published: 2006-12-27T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T23:27:24.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Jewelers say they aren’t aware of diamond origins*

CITYWIDE — Blood or no blood, Santa Monica jewelers don’t believe the new Edward Zwick flick examining the scandalous diamond operations in Sierra Leone will harm business.

“Blood Diamond,” starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Jennifer Connelly, is about a South African mercenary and a Mende fisherman who join in a quest to recover a pink diamond. The movie is set in 1990s Sierra Leone when the West African nation was in the midst of a civil war.

The film, which was released on Dec. 8, touches the issue of conflict diamonds, diamonds that originate in war torn countries where proceeds from the sale of these precious stones are used to finance rebel military action against internationally recognized and legitimate governments.

In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the conflict diamond, also known as blood diamonds, as a “contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts.”

Much of the illegal activity occurs in Angola and Sierra Leone where the proceeds funds rebel groups, according to the United Nations resolution. These rebel groups are known as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola and the Revolutionary United Front.

In Santa Monica, jewelers say they have no worries about the potential backlash from the film.

“The film brings exposure to the diamond industry,” said Claude of Claude Joaillier on Montana Avenue.“The film is an adaptation of a writer’s viewpoint about what is going on in the diamond industry.”

> “THE FILM BRINGS EXPOSURE TO THE DIAMOND INDUSTRY.” — Claude Joaillier Jeweler

“Any press is good press,” he added. Sitting in his cozy jewelry store on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, Claude talked about how jewelers like himself are unaware of the origin of the diamonds in their store. The question of whether a diamond was used to fund rebel groups remains a secret to the jeweler, and sometimes even the vendor who sold the diamond to the store, Claude said.

The only case when a diamond’s origin might be known is if the gem was large in carats, causing the government to document all transactions involving the diamond because it is of high value, Claude said. Otherwise, the information usually remains a mystery.

The key to ensuring that a diamond is clean is to be sure the vendor is also legitimate, said Robert Mulleneaus, manager of Kovan Jewelers on Montana Avenue. The jewelry business only uses a trusted select few vendors with whom they have worked closely in the past. Jewelers that constantly change their vendors are the ones who run into trouble, Mulleneaus said. The vendor for Kovan Jewelers purchases diamonds from Israel, India and Belgium.

“It hasn’t been a huge topic of conversation here, which is good,” he said of the movie.

Some store owners have taken steps to assure customers that their diamonds are conflict free.

Readers Fine Jewelers on Wilshire Boulevard will only purchase diamonds that are certified by strict international guidelines called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which was created two years after the UN adopted the resolution on conflict diamonds.

“I don’t deal with those kinds of people,” said owner Eddie Guerboian in his store on Tuesday. “They are a lower class of vendors and they are not legitimate.”

Ever since Judi Firestone of JJ Design found out about the blood diamond operations, she and her husband have examined the origin of every diamond that enters their inventory.

Ensuring customers that the diamonds are not tainted is especially important in Santa Monica where the residents tend to be socially conscious, Firestone said.

“I’m very aware of what goes on there and it’s terrible,” Firestone said on Tuesday while sitting in her Montana Avenue store. “The people we deal with are very reputable.”

“We’ve been in business here for 15 years and we do the best we can.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 27, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/122706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)