Introduction
Of fragile appearance but indestructible, symbols of love and wealth, that's how diamonds are, but have you ever wondered how a diamond goes from the earth to the finest jewelry? Diamonds are extracted from the kimberlite, a stone that formed more than 150 million years ago from volcanic eruptions of the earth's mantle (Yushin, 2018, para.4). The path that diamonds follow from the mine in which they are extracted to the final buyer is long and extends throughout the world. In case of Sierra Leone, the journey of diamonds begins in Africa, then travel to Europe, specifically to the city of Antwerp in Belgium, then they are sent to China where they are polished for later return to Antwerp, where they are sold to different jewelers mainly in the United States, which consumes 60% of the diamond trade. Each of this countries faces different challenges for the sustainability of the diamond trade.
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