2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,100 times in 2010. That’s about 7 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 21 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 44 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 541kb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was June 23rd with 43 views. The most popular post that day was Charm Bracelets.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were fallers.com, healthfitnesstherapy.com, digg.com, fallers.ie, and android-vs-ipad.co.cc.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for what does your watch say about you, irish symbols, what does a watch say about you, correct ring size, and christmas in ireland.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Charm Bracelets May 2010

2

How to wear your Claddagh Ring April 2010

3

Celtic Irish Symbols May 2010

4

Choosing the correct ring size April 2010

5

History of the Claddagh Ring March 2010
3 comments

Blood Diamonds

As supermodel Naomi Campbell is caught up in the trial of former Libyan President Charles Taylor, the issue of “Blood Diamonds” has once again resurfaced on the world stage.

 This is the second time in the last few years that blood diamonds have become an important topic. The first was in 2006, after the release of Hollywood movie, “Blood Diamond” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and helped publicize the controversy and also raised much needed awareness on the topic throughout the world.

 “Blood Diamonds”, also known as “Conflict Diamonds” or “War Diamonds” refers to diamonds that are mined in African war zones and are used to finance conflicts and war efforts in countries in Africa.    The use of diamonds in funding war activities has been going on for years, it has been reported that about 20% of the total diamond production in the 1980’s was used for illegal purposes, yet it was 1998 before the first legislation was drawn up in relation to this matter, when the UN passed a resolution that banned the purchase of conflict diamonds from Angola in Africa.  In 2005, in a further attempt to curtail the illegal trade they then banned all diamond exports from the Ivory Coast as it was one of the most prolific countries involved. Other African countries highlighted included Liberia, The Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

 In 2000, a report called the Fowler Report is credited with establishing the link between diamonds and third world conflicts and it led to the establishment of a number of new legislations, in particular the ‘Kimberley Process Certification Scheme’.   In 2001, a new organization called the World Diamond Council was established.  This new body implemented a process whereby all rough diamonds could be certified as coming from a non-conflict source and it was called the KPCS or Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.  This is an International certification system on the export and import of diamonds. It calls on all countries to accept only officially sealed diamond packages and for countries to impose criminal charges on anyone trafficking in conflict diamonds.  All governments must now keep records on all diamonds exported and imported and they must adhere to extensive requirements.  It currently has 49 members representing 75 countries and the illegal diamond trade is believed to be down to about 1%, according to reports from the World Diamond Council.

 So when you go into a Jewellery store here in Ireland, you have the piece of mind of knowing that we only sell conflict-free diamonds. Diamonds that can be traced back to their source and which were produced and mined under ethical conditions.