Botswana

Kim Kardashian In Africa To Tour Diamond Mines

Filed under: Jewelry, Celebrity Shopping

The lovely Kim Kardashian has worn plenty of diamonds but now she's headed to Botswana and South Africa to promote them. Kardashian's visit comes at a time when Botswana's rough diamond sales are down 68 percent. The country's economy is deeply dependent on diamonds and has shrunk in recent months.

Kardashian will visit the Jwaneng mine, Diamond Trading Botswana and Motswedi Rehabilitation School in Mochudi. Her visit is on behalf of the Diamond Empowerment Fund, the organization founded by Russell Simmons. Kardashian and her boyfriend, football player Reggie Bush are traveling along with Kardashian's sister Khloe, former football player Ray Crockett and Diamond Executive Director Ellen Haddigan. Kardashian is documenting her experiences in Africa on her Twitter account.

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Tags: botswana, diamonds, kim kardashian, KimKardashian

The 2009 Pirelli Calendar by Peter Beard

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

For the past 40 years, Italian tire company Pirelli has issued a limited-edition calendar to a select list of VIPs - the kind who have fleets of Pirelli-shod Ferraris. They always feature plenty of nude and semi-nude supermodels. The 2009 Pirelli Calendar has an African theme and was shot in Botswana by famed photographer Peter Beard with models including the stunning Isabeli Fontana, Malgosia Bela, Daria Werbowy and Raquel Zimmermann, along with a fleet of agreeable elephants and not a lot of clothes. Unless you're on the list, getting your hands on an actual calendar may be difficult, but check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: 2009 Pirelli Calendar

Tags: Africa, Botswana, Ferrari, Peter Beard, PeterBeard, Pirelli, Pirelli Calendar, PirelliCalendar, Supermodels

De Beers Grounds Their Diamond-Hunting Airship

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Two years ago I wrote about the start of De Beers attempts to use a zeppelin to detect diamonds in Botswana. The experiment is now at an end. The airship has been permanently grounded by De Beers after heavy winds shook the ship from its mooring near the Jwaneng mine injuring its crew. The zeppelin was too badly damaged to be put back to work and De Beers has decided to use other methods of diamond exploration.

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Tags: airship, botswana, de beers, DeBeers, zeppelin

Diamonds For Africa Fund

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

We've written before about conflict diamonds and various movements to support ending dangerous diamond mining practices but what about diamonds that have already been mined and set in rings? A new nonprofit group called Diamonds for Africa has announced that they will collect donated diamond jewelry to raise money for African aid. Co-founder Corey Frayer decided to start the fund after researching conflict diamonds and deciding to donate his fiancee's ring because he did not know the source of the diamond. He has partnered up with Brilliant Earth, which specializes in conflict-free diamonds from Canada and the Indigenous Land Rights Fund. They are urging people to donate diamond jewelry or make cash donations and hope to raise $300,000 this year to benefit the San Bushmen in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

[via Diamonds.net]

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Tags: african aid, botswana, conflict diamonds, diamonds

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