The word "diamond" comes from the ancient Greek "adamas" -- invincible. A diamond is the hardest substance found in nature and the most precious. For centuries, diamonds have served as the ultimate shorthand for something far more elusive: true love itself.

英文「鑽石」diamond這個字源自古希臘文 adamas，原意指所向無敵或無往不勝。鑽石是自然界迄今所發現最堅硬的物質，也是最珍貴的。數世紀來，鑽石一直是「真愛」這個遠更不可捉摸之物的終極簡速表達方式。

But a new Hollywood film "Blood Diamond," starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, chronicles how diamonds funded decades of civil war in Africa. This film threatens to chip away at the luster of these magnificent stones.

但好萊塢新上片的電影「血鑽石」，由李奧納多狄卡皮歐和迪蒙胡索主演，以鑽石如何資助非洲數十年來的內戰為經緯，該片勢必使這些珍貴的寶石大為失色。

In Sierra Leone, Congo, Angola and Ivory Coast during the 1990s, diamonds kept the guns and the bloodshed flowing. According to the watchdog groups Global Witness and Amnesty International, conflict diamonds accounted for 15 percent of the global market. In Angola alone, the rebel group Unita generated as much as $4 billion from diamonds.

1990年代，在獅子山、剛果、安哥拉和象牙海岸，鑽石使槍枝得以繼續交易，而血也繼續流。據監測組織「全球目擊」和「國際特赦組織」指出，「衝突鑽石」約占全球市場的15%。光是在安哥拉，反抗軍「安哥拉全面獨立聯盟」就從鑽石取得高達40億美元的資金。

Human rights groups say that diamonds remain an important source of funding for the Russian mafia, Hezbollah and even al Qaeda.

人權團體說，鑽石仍是俄羅斯黑手黨、【黎巴嫩】真主黨，甚至凱達恐怖組織重要資金來源。

"Diamonds to them are very useful," said Alex Yearsley of London-based Global Witness. "There are no serial numbers, they don't set off metal detectors in airports, and they maintain their value."

「鑽石對他們很有用，」總部在倫敦的「全球目擊」的葉斯利說。「它們沒有序號，在機場不會觸動金屬偵測器，而且價位穩定。」

That's why the most concentrated form of wealth on earth is also the very currency of conflict.

因此，地球上最濃縮的財富形式也是衝突的熱門通貨。

The fact that a new Christmas action movie, set in 1999, calls attention to conflict diamonds has the industry nervous. "Blood Diamond" is a potential poison pill for retailers.

事實上這次耶誕節上檔的新動作片，背景設定1999年，喚醒世人注意「衝突鑽石」的存在，使鑽石業界神經緊繃。「血鑽石」可能是零售業者的毒藥。

After all, this is high season for marriage proposals. December and the run-up to Valentine's Day account for as much as one-quarter of the marriage proposals each year.

畢竟，現在是求婚旺季，十二月，加上西洋情人節快到了，使這段期間求婚的人數，高達每年的四分之一。

"When you hear about a Hollywood movie with a title like this one, you can't help but be a little anxious about it," De Beers spokesman Stephen Lussier told "Nightline." He was eager to set the record straight.

「當你聽說好萊塢有部電影取這種片名時，自然會有點焦慮，」戴比爾斯採礦公司發言人路西爾告訴「夜線」，他急欲為鑽石正名。

For the past three years, the global diamond industry has taken significant steps to address the problem of conflict diamonds, adopting a vetting system called the Kimberly Process. Adopted by 70 countries, the Kimberly Process vouchsafes the source of each diamond sold.

過去三年來，全球鑽石業者已經採取重大措施來解決「衝突鑽石」的問題，他們採取一種名為「金伯利流程」的審查制度，保證每顆賣出去的鑽石來源安全無虞，目前已有70國採行。

Stephen Lussier insisted that as a result "significantly less than 1 percent" of the diamonds sold worldwide are conflict diamonds. He said all of the diamonds De Beers sells are legitimately mined.

路西爾堅稱，結果「只有不到百分之一」銷到全球的鑽石是「衝突鑽石」，他強調，戴比爾斯所賣的鑽石都是合法開採的。

Human rights groups say the Kimberly Process has helped. They say it has also helped that many African civil wars are over. But they say there are still huge loopholes that allow illicit diamond traders to prosper.

人權團體說，「金伯利流程」多少有些幫助。它們並指出，這個流程有助於促使很多非洲內戰結束，但它們強調，還是有巨大的漏洞，讓非洲鑽石業者大撈一筆。

"The Kimberly Process has been described by some in the industry as little more than a fig leaf," said Yearsley. "It's a way of covering up illicit diamonds as well."

「鑽石界有人形容金伯利流程不過是塊遮羞布，」葉斯利說。「是一種掩飾非法鑽石交易的煙幕彈。」

Ghana now faces possible expulsion from the Kimberly Process. Unscrupulous traders there have laundered illicit diamonds from neighboring Ivory Coast, where a bloody conflict is still raging. The diamonds that pass through Ghana, including the ones smuggled from Ivory Coast, are certified "conflict free."

迦納現在可能面臨被逐出「金伯利流程」的命運，當地一些不擇手段的無恥業者為來自鄰國象牙海岸的鑽石漂白，象牙海岸流血衝突繼續肆虐。通過迦納，包括那些從象牙海岸走私的鑽石，被認定並非衝突鑽石。

From Marilyn Monroe to James Bond, Hollywood has sold plenty of diamonds Unscrupulous. So perhaps it is only fair that with "Blood Diamond," the silver screen is now stripping away some of the romance.

從瑪麗蓮夢露到詹姆斯龐德，好萊塢曾眛著良知賣了很多鑽石，因此，也許「血鑽石」透過寬銀幕剝除部分浪漫色彩也是公平的。

The terms "conflict diamonds" or "blood diamonds" refer to gems that have been used by rebel groups to pay for wars that have killed and displaced millions of people in Africa, the source of an estimated 65 percent of the world's diamonds.

「衝突鑽石」或「血鑽石」這些名稱，主要指反抗團體使用這些真鑽來支付戰爭費用，這些戰爭造成非洲數以百萬計人民遭到殺害和流離失所。全世界的鑽石約65%來自非洲。

There is no evidence yet of consumer flight from diamonds. Sales of diamond jewelry in the United States have been rising, by 7 percent last year to $33.7 billion. American purchasers account for half the world's $60 billion in annual retail sales.

目前還沒有證據證明，消費者拒買鑽石。美國鑽飾銷售額去年繼續攀升7%，達337億美元，美國買的鑽石占世界每年零售額600億美元的一半。

"In general, more people have a greater sense of the world around them and how their actions affect that world," said Millie Martini Bratten, the editor in chief of Brides magazine. She said there's an attitude "not to have a wedding that's all about me."

「整體而言，更多人對他們周遭的世界及他們的一舉一動如何影響世界有更深切的認知，」「新娘雜誌」總編輯米莉．馬丁尼．布拉頓說。她表示，目前的態度是「婚禮不再唯我獨尊。」