DiCaprio Film May Hurt Diamond Sales Over Holidays, Author Says

By Dan Lonkevich

Dec. 18, 2006 (found at Bloomberg) -- ``Blood Diamond,'' the new Leonardo DiCaprio movie about gems-for-weapons dealing in war-torn Sierra Leone during the 1990s, may hurt Christmas sales of diamonds, according to an author who has written a book about the issue.

``The film lays out the link between horrific events in Sierra Leone and this luxury product,'' said Tom Zoellner, author of ``The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire.'' ``For something as fundamentally unnecessary as a diamond, any damage to image is critical.''

The Warner Bros. movie, which was released Dec. 8, 2006 received good reviews overall and was No. 3 at the box office on its opening weekend with $8.5 million. Because of its star power -- in addition to DiCaprio, the movie features Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou -- ``Blood Diamond'' has gotten the attention of the diamond industry.

Cecilia Gardner, general counsel of the New York-based World Diamond Council, said the film has made little or no impact on diamond sales.

``From the few diamond dealers I've spoken with, they're having a pretty good season,'' she said in a telephone interview.

Dealers say the problem of ``blood diamonds'' or ``conflict diamonds'' -- those mined in warring countries, then traded for arms that are used to keep the conflicts going -- was addressed by a 2002 international agreement known as the Kimberly Process. But Zoellner says the agreement hasn't been effective.

``It's clear the Kimberly Process is not successful,'' he said during an interview last week in New York. ``There will be another diamond war in Africa. Diamonds will once more be used to finance widespread conflict and war.''

Smuggling

Under the Kimberly Process, diamonds are supposed to be shipped in tamperproof containers with certificates verifying that they come from legitimate sources. Zoellner says the system doesn't prevent diamonds from being smuggled over borders with phony paperwork.

``What makes me mad is they're saying this paperwork is successful,'' said Zoellner, who added that the Kimberly Process doesn't address the poor working conditions and substandard pay of diamond miners in Africa.

Gardner said the industry is trying to improve those conditions.

``The Kimberly Process has been working with several financial institutions, including the World Bank, to develop ways to address the issues,'' she said.

Monroe's Song

Although ``Blood Diamond'' may hurt sales of the gems over the holidays, Zoellner doubts the movie will have a lasting impact on the industry because of the powerful allure of diamonds. He says diamonds are ingrained in our images of love, power, sex and marriage.

``The diamond is a total creation of image,'' said Zoellner, who played no role in the making of ``Blood Diamond.'' ``The only thing it has is this mythology built by hundreds of years of marketing.''

In the past, the diamond industry has benefited from the glamour of Hollywood. Zoellner points out that iconic actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly wore diamonds in films, and Monroe also popularized the song, ``Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.'' Of course, there also was the James Bond movie, ``Diamonds Are Forever.''

Zoellner says movies usually just have a fleeting influence on the public. For example, when Clark Gable took off his shirt to reveal a bare chest in ``It Happened One Night,'' sales of undershirts temporarily dropped.

``Men stopped buying them,'' Zoellner said. ``They all wanted to look like Clark Gable.''

Dan Lonkevich in New York