diamond empowerment fund

Rachel Bilson Designs For The Diamond Empowerment Fund

Filed under: Jewelry, Charity, Celebrity Design

Last December Rachel Bilson traveled to Botswana and South Africa to see the work being done by Russell Simmons' Diamond Empowerment Fund. Now the actress has created a new bracelet to benefit the cause. The leather bracelet features a 1/6 carat diamond in an Everlon Diamond Knot setting (the latest design from De Beers). The round-cut diamond is set in 14k gold over sterling silver. The bracelet sells for $100 at Macy's and $20 from each sale goes to the Diamond Empowerment Fund to support the education and empowerment of African people.

The Diamond Empowerment Fund was founded in 2007 and first raised money with the selling of a malachite bracelet crowned with a rough diamond. The non-profit international organization raises money to support education initiatives that include the fund's first project, the CIDA City Campus, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The four-year school educates students and sends them back to the townships as teachers. It offers liberal arts education and business classes and the students do all the work at the school except teaching. Profits from Bilson's bracelet will help purchase additional student housing for the campus.

[via In Style]

Tags: de beers, DeBeers, Def Jam Records, diamond empowerment fund, Diamond Empowerment Initiative, DiamondEmpowermentFund, everlon, rachel bilson, RachelBilson, russell simmons, RussellSimmons

The Simmons Green Initiative

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Charity, Holiday Guides

Beyonce Knowles is happily wearing a Rough Diamond and Malachite Green bracelet from Simmons Jewelry Company.

Simmons, as in the infamous Simmons Family which includes lines such as Kimora Lee Simmons for Hello Kitty, Simmons Men's Collection, Brown Sugar by Justine Simmons, and the iconic Green Malachite bracelet which gives back to the Diamond Empowerment Fund. The bracelet, above, comes in three sizes at $125 and has a little gold diamond charm containing a small rough diamond - very classy, chic, and perfect for your environmentally conscious friends and relatives.

The Diamond Empowerment Fund, to which 50% of all Rough Diamond and Malachite Green bracelet profits go, is an international non-profit organization which raises money for educational programs in Africa. Feeling green? Click here to learn more and find out how you can help.

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Tags: africa, beyonce, beyonce knowles, BeyonceKnowles, bracelet, charity, diamond empowerment fund, DiamondEmpowermentFund, green, hello kitty, HelloKitty, jewelry, justine simmons, JustineSimmons, kimora lee simmons, KimoraLeeSimmons, malachite, runs house, RunsHouse, simmons

Russell Simmons Speaks at JCK Las Vegas on the Diamond Empowerment Fund

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Charity

Greetings from the JCK Jewelry Show in Las Vegas. The show is one of the jewelry world's major events where manufacturers and wholesalers show their latest wares to retailers and industry professionals. The keynote speaker this morning was Russell Simmons, the hip hop impresario behind Def Jam Records and Baby Phat and now Simmons Jewelry and the Diamond Empowerment Fund. Simmons first became interested in the jewelry business a couple of years ago. He began thinking about jewelry when his then wife, Kimora decided it would be a good idea to make jewelry. His initial response was that he would never buy her fur coats or diamonds, two things he associated with hurt and damage to others.

He changed his mind after doing more research with the Clinton Initiative and other groups and taking his own trip to Africa where he met with Nelson Mandela and learned that while diamonds have caused a lot of pain and suffering they also can do good in the world. He found that in some areas people would starve without the sales of diamonds. This led to the formation of the Diamond Empowerment Fund. DEF works to promote higher education for Africans and so far has raised $9 million for a school in South Africa, the CIDA school which serves 3300 students, It is a four-year school,which is basically a college to teach students and send them back to the townships as teachers. It offers liberal arts education and business classes and the students do all the work at the school except teaching.

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Tags: diamond empowerment fund, diamonds, russell simmons, RussellSimmons, south africa, SouthAfrica

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