• which are also notoriously mined under horrid conditions - i.e. “blood diamonds”

    Not only are blood diamonds mined under bad conditions, they are mined in mines owned/controlled by insurgents and terrorist groups, and then the sale of these diamonds is used to fund the activities of these groups. Watchdog organizations are a lot more careful about blood diamonds these days than they were 20 years ago, but it’s still possible to accidentally get ahold of one. That’s why it’s so bad to buy one and it’s why people all over the world made a fuss about them back around 2000 - 2003, because buying one directly funds atrocities in central Africa. They’re usually sold cheaper than the monopolized diamonds too.