JUST two years ago diamonds were set to go the way of fur, transformed in the public imagination from a mark of glamour to an emblem of cruelty. African warlords and rebel leaders were waging ferocious civil wars armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers bought with illicitly mined diamonds. And as campaigners and journalists reminded people almost daily, many of these blood or “conflict” diamonds were ending up in high-street jewellery shops and on the fingers of unsuspecting brides in the West. A devastating consumer boycott seemed to be on the cards.
The boycott didn’t happen. Instead, the diamond industry…
