As members of the Continental Buying Group, we have our suppliers of loose and mounted diamonds sign contracts confirming pricing, terms, quality, return policies, as well as guarantees confirming no use of fracture filled diamonds without disclosure and the latest issue concerning diamonds from conflicted area. Here is an excerpt, paragraph 10, of our contract with our suppliers: Please be advised that we fully support a policy of not purchasing diamonds illicitly seized and sold by rebel forced in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since it is not possible for retail jewelers to verify the country of origin of diamonds, we must work closely with our suppliers to ensure that they do not knowingly purchase diamonds from conflict areas. Accordingly, we are asking you to commit that you will not knowingly sell illicit diamonds and that, to the best of your ability, you will undertake reasonable measures to help prevent the sale of illicit diamonds in this country. The Continental Buying Group consists of 79 retailers including almost 400 doors of independent jewelers with the highest credit ratings representing a combined annual sales volume of over 1 billion dollars. We work together to pool our buying power to receive the best merchandise from the finest suppliers with integrity at the lowest prices. We are not required to buy from each vendor, nor do we all have to buy the same merchandise. We have simply banded together to be able to offer the best value to our customers as well as the assurance that we have the power in our industry to stand united against misrepresented or inferior jewelry and the sales of illicit diamonds in our stores. |
