People would care if they knew of the abuse

Ihave studied gemology and work with gems, but I have not come across this issue. Gems are very useful and powerful but I never thought about the chance of child abuse or human rights violations. It is a vast industry, and I would never have thought that children would be used for it.

Even in my own studies of gems, I did not come across this issue. However, I think this can be an issue with any industry. Rules have to be enforced strictly within an industry and, yes, we should know what is behind the bling. How are the materials being sourced? I definitely think people would care.

For example, people care about animal abuse and because of this concern many make-up brands have taken the necessary action to not test their products on animals. In the case of jewellery, if this issue is highlighted, it will have a great impact.

As a jewellery shopowner, we meet people who sell us materials from Sri Lanka and Bangkok. We then make customised jewellery in the UAE, with a small group of skilled workers.

So, there is no question of such issues in our experience. In fact, just recently I came across a post on Instagram of a gem trader, Yianni Melas, who went on a hunger strike to protest the sale of a diamond necklace, demanding that the money from the valuable sale go to children in Angola who are suffering because of the industry.

So, people would care if the issue is highlighted.

From Ms Punam Bhatia Jewellery and gems business owner based in Dubai