Daily Times

Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s latest photoshoot won a lot of attention. Sporting matching black ensembles, the couple starred in Tiffany & Co’s latest ‘About Love’ campaign. However, netizens were not too pleased to see the jewellery that the singer wore in the pictures.

The Lemonade singer teamed a body-hugging backless black dress with the jeweller’s signature yellow 128.54-carat Tiffany diamond. Social media users quickly pointed out that the precious rock was originally discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa in 1877 under British colonial rule.

People also said that the Tiffany diamond is a “blood diamond” or conflict diamond, according to Independent. The UN defines these diamonds are those that originate from areas “controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognised governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments”.

Tiffany & Co, however, mentions on its website that all its diamonds are “conflict-free”. “As global leaders in sustainable luxury, Tiffany & Co is committed to sourcing natural and precious materials in an ethical and sustainable manner. We have a zero-tolerance policy toward conflict diamonds, and source our diamonds only from known sources and countries that are participants in the Kimberley process,” it reads.

The ‘Lemonade’ singer teamed a body-hugging backless black dress with the jeweller’s signature yellow 128.54-carat Tiffany diamond

Beyoncé is reportedly only the fourth woman and the first black woman to wear the precious stone. Previous wearers include Lady Gaga and Audrey Hepburn.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles-Lawson commented on an Instagram post, “How many of you socially conscious activist own diamonds? I thought so! Well guess what did you go to try to check to see where the diamond came from? Probably not,” reported Page Six. “So when you guys get engaged you won’t have a diamond you gonna put on a sterling silver band. And you better check out where it came from and the origin of where came from and why you add it check out the calls for the Leather that you weird because they made it came from another country to ban and not buy diamonds right because your righteous,” she added.