At Christmas time, jewelry is often given away as a symbol of love. Gemstones in exquisite settings are put in satin-lined boxes and bought by well-meaning people to give them to loved ones. Rubies from Myanmar are considered to be the finest in the world, but the origins of these gemstones are often linked to horrific human rights violations.
New insights in a report recently published by Global Witness highlight a problem in the supply chain that is being ignored by many brands in the luxury market. The report underscores the fact that there is no such thing as an ethically sound Burmese ruby, despite the fact that Myanmar (also known as Burma) is one of the two largest suppliers of ruby in the world and provides the world’s most precious stones. The current world record holder, an untreated ruby from the Mogok region of Myanmar, was sold for over $ 30 million at a 2015 Sotheby’s auction, which is worth over $ 1 million per carat.
However, Myanmar’s gem trade is a corrupt military business run by the country’s Supreme General Min Aung Hlaing, the architect of the 2021 coup d’état, charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. Under his command, the military has used the country’s significant gem-richness to silence armed opposition to his rule, forcibly expropriating local communities, and licensing armed groups to mine rubies. Although gem mining is currently illegal in the country, tens of thousands of informal miners are being exploited by the military so that the lucrative gem trade can continue. And there is always an unscrupulous demand that funds the atrocities.
Report: Rubies in the jewelry trade fund the Myanmar conflict and human rights abuses
Myanmar rubies are traded in the multi-billion dollar gemstone markets of Bangkok, Hong Kong, New York and London and are bought by international brands such as Bulgari, Graff and others. An estimated 90 percent of the world’s ruby supply came from Myanmar until 2009, when Mozambique emerged as a competing supply market. According to the report, some international jewelry brands like Chopard and Boucheron buy rubies from Mozambique, but mining there has also been linked to serious human rights abuses and corruption. The report suggests that Mozambique rubies are not an ethical alternative to sourcing gemstones from Myanmar.
“Luxury brands – like Graff, Harry Winston and Sotheby’s – bury their heads in the sand and sell ignorant consumers: inside rubies that are very likely to finance conflict,” the report says. “Of the more than 30 international jewelry firms, auction houses and retailers contacted by Global Witness, only three – Tiffany & Co., Signet Jewelers and Boodles – have publicly stated that they are no longer sourcing gemstones from Myanmar.
When the rubies reach Thailand, where most of the rubies from Myanmar are processed, Global Witness has found that many traders have no idea which mines they came from and often do not even try to find out. Of the 20+ Global Witness spoke to, only one party, Fai Dee Gems, was able to identify the specific mine from which the gems were obtained. This is in conflict with the due diligence expectations set out in the international gemstone supply chain standards.
The most important target markets for Burmese rubies are China, India and the USA, but EU countries, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore are also important sales markets. The report said, “Companies around the world are hiding behind the complexities of gem supply chains, which obscures the origins of the stones sold in the world market.” Jewelry firms that sell Burmese gemstones disregard internationally recognized frameworks, including the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Supply Chains for Minerals from Conflict and High Risk Areas.
“The companies that spoke to us, Signet Jewelers, Chopard, Tiffany & Co., and Bulgari, see themselves as leaders in responsible sourcing,” reports Global Witness. “However, two of them – Bulgari and Chopard – do not rule out sourcing rubies from Myanmar, and Bulgari was marketing at least one ruby from Myanmar at the time of our investigation.”
Founded in 1993 and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Global Witness is a non-governmental organization committed to holding companies and governments accountable for environmental degradation, disregard for the planet and failures to protect human rights. Since the investigation into the Myanmar rubies began, there has been some good news, perhaps in part due to what brought them to light. Harry Winston Company changed its position and announced on December 9th that it would no longer source gemstones of Burmese origin, which is to be welcomed. FashionUnited has asked Graff and LVMH, the owner of Bulgari, for comments but received none at the time of going to press.
“Jewelry companies must demand transparency from their suppliers. It is almost impossible to monitor the supply chain of a ruby from Myanmar, ”said Clare Hammond, Senior Myanmar Campaigner at Global Witness. “As long as they don’t know whether the rubies are from Myanmar, they have to stop selling them. The fact that a handful of brands have already traded leaves the others no excuse not to follow suit. “
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ