About Conflict Free Rings

At Larson Jewelers, we are very aware that each and every action we take has the ability to impact the world and its people. While we strive to run a business that makes our customers happy, we don't stop there. We treat our employees with dignity and respect, and we only work with vendors and suppliers that also share our beliefs.

All of our precious metal jewelry comes from the largest and most respected suppliers in the United States. These are suppliers that have been in business for decades, some for more than a century. One example is Hoover and Strong, based in Richmond, Virginia. They have been in business for just over 100 years. Today they supply the jewelry industry with just about everything; from gold, platinum, palladium, and silver, to diamonds and gemstones. They are certified by a very well respected 3rd party, SCS Global Services, that is in turn accredited by numerous branches of the US government, such as the USDA, as well as many non governmental organizations, such as the Forest Stewardship Council. Hoover and Strong has over 30,000 jewelry, diamonds, and gemstone products that are made in the USA and certified conflict free. Their products are not only conflict free, but are also ethically sourced from suppliers that engage in fair trade and environmentally friendly practices.

Our non-precious metal products, such as tungsten carbide rings, are sourced from countries and regions that are conflict free. Many people are aware that tungsten mined from the Congo has a very high chance of coming from a conflict source. Many suppliers will certify that they are not purchasing tungsten minerals from the Congo, but that is not enough. Many minerals mined from the Congo is actually illegally transported out of the Congo and into neighboring countries, and then resold as if they originated from that country. Because of the lack of transparency in Africa, and the fact that there are many other countries in the world with much larger tungsten supplies, we do not source from any suppliers that get their tungsten mineral from Africa, just to be completely sure our tungsten rings are made from conflict free minerals.

Our diamonds come from US based suppliers that are Kimberly Process compliant, which is an international body comprised of diamond producing and consuming countries to track and certify all diamonds to ensure they do not come from conflict sources. In April 2003, President Bush signed a law that adopted this process and requires all retailers to purchase from diamond suppliers that have documentation showing their diamonds come from legitimate sources. In addition, all diamonds entering the US are inspected by US Customs to guarantee they are Kimberly Process complaint. This means if we decide to directly import diamonds ourselves, they are cleared by US Customs as Kimberly Process compliant.