The diamonds so many of us use to illustrate we are living a big pimpin', bling-bling lifestyle often comes from killing fields in Africa. But, through deft marketing, De Beers has created a mystique of rarity and eternity for the gem and stoked ravenous consumer demand for it among Americans - black and white. "A Diamond is Forever" is the slogan of the century. The marketing of diamonds among Americans is so successful that last year our purchases accounted for half of the world's $57.5 billion diamond sales.

Our communities' connoisseurs can tell you about the traditional four Cs of judging a diamond - carat, color, clarity and cut. But, diamond buyers need to pay attention to the fifth C now associated with diamonds - conflict. Rebel armies in the African nations of Angola, Congo (formerly Zaire) and Sierra Leone keep their causes alive by seizing diamond territories, setting up mining operations and trafficking in stones to which they have no legal right.

Conspicuous consumers in our communities should be considerably concerned about preludes to their purchases. In Sierra Leone, the diamond trade has fueled monumental brutality from rebels whose signature act of terror against civilians is hacking off human limbs. Sierra Leone's stones are easily absorbed into the global diamond market, physically indistinguishable from legitimate diamonds they find their way into 15 percent of the world's jewelry stores.

In Angola, the UNITA rebel movement, in concert with European traders, has made $4 billion in diamond trading, which it uses to buy arms and continue a war that has killed millions and raged on for 25 years. In Congo, warlords begin mining illegal diamonds in 1998. As many as five different armies are in Congo's grinding war. The war and seizure of mining opportunities has caused as many as 1.7 million deaths during the past three years.

The marketing of diamonds may have made them a girl's best friend, but in Africa, their consumption makes for the rebel's best support base. The world's diamond dealers are the conduit for international consumption. This shadowy group of business people are based in the industry's five hubs: Israel, Belgium, Russia, India and the U.S. They buy the coarse lumps of carbon, cut and polish them to a crystalline brilliance that makes them the world's most coveted jewels. The dealers finance the wars and government corruption.

So, what are we here 8,000 miles away from the conflicts to do? Blacks used the world economy to achieve the specific political goal of eliminating apartheid in South Africa. We asked the world's financial traders to employ economic sanctions to fight racial segregation in that country. In this case are we willing to withdraw from the diamond marketplace to force the conflicts cease?

The gems we favor as a token of enduring love fund atrocities in Africa. If we have the concerns we so often profess about Africa, we can make diamond rings as socially frowned upon as fur coats have become. The diamond industry is peculiarly vulnerable to public opinion because the stone is absolutely without value but for its sentimental associations.

William Reed is the author of "Who's Who in Black Corporate America." For questions or comments email him at businessexchange@metroconnection.info or call him at 202-547-4125.