Our Trip to Botswana

Welcome to the Clear Cut Classroom where we take deep dives into all things diamonds (and jewelry)! Today we’re going to do a recap of our trip to Botswana where we saw the natural diamond process and mining industry. 

Watch the full video below:

We’ve always been big supporters of natural diamonds and giving back to the local mining communities. Recently, we went to Botswana with Forbes 30 under 30 and De Beers group. We spent the day with De Beers and saw how natural diamonds were ethically mined, sorted, and polished. 

De beers moved their headquarters from London to Gaborone, Botswana. The government of Botswana owns 15% of De Beers. All of the proceeds not only benefit De Beers but benefit the government of Botswana. De Beers headquarters houses the rough diamonds mined in Canada, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Then the diamonds are sorted, aggregated, and categorized. Suppliers have implemented a new technology known as a tracer which traces the diamonds on the blockchain from the origin to the final sale!

Overall, natural diamonds are supporting governments and the local economy by providing jobs for its residents. Furthermore, residents in Botswana have the opportunity to work for these companies, receive a stipend, and gain access to free education.

The diamond industry brings a ton of opportunities for the government, the people, and provides additional funds to preserve endangered wildlife. In contrast, lab grown diamonds don’t have the same collaborative infrastructure and principles as the natural diamonds industry. As quoted by the President of Botswana “There’s no Botswana without natural diamonds and without natural diamonds there’s no Botswana.”

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