The first 131 diamonds certified by the Government of Ontario, Canada, have been unveiled at a private event at the Birks Toronto flagship store. The diamonds come from Ontario's first ever diamond mine, the De Beers Canada Victor Mine.

In addition to originating from the province of Ontario, these crystals have been cut and polished at Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd., located in Sudbury, Ontario. The entire process, from the extracting of the rough crystals to cutting and polishing the diamonds, takes place within Ontario as outlined in agreements signed between government and industry. This event will mark the first time that diamonds will complete the journey from the mine to the consumer within the Province of Ontario.

The Ontario certified diamonds will only be available for purchase at the Birks Toronto flagship store from April 26th until May 1, 2010. They will be sold as loose diamonds, and clients will have the opportunity to mount them whichever way they choose using platinum or Sustainable Canadian Gold etched with the maple leaf logo and "Birks 750".

Each Ontario certified diamond comes with a certificate from the Government of Ontario, Canada indicating the diamond number, which is also etched in the diamond itself. Each diamond will also come with a Birks Diamond Certificate and laser engraving on the girdle with a maple leaf - visible with 10x power magnification.

After the event, the Ontario diamonds will be amalgamated with Birks’ Canadian diamonds and sold under that banner. This will allow Birks to offer a greater selection of Canadian diamonds. As well, in May, Birks will start offering Amorique jewelry and engagement rings with Canadian diamonds. The Amorique diamond is Birks’ proprietary cushion-shaped, fancy-cut diamond.

"Birks is pleased to offer our clients an increasing number of Canadian diamonds in our assortment. As an iconic Canadian institution, we believe Canadian origin diamonds resonate with our clients and are clearly supportive of our overall sustainability efforts," stated Thomas Andruskevich, President & CEO of Birks & Mayors Inc, which operated 64 luxury jewelry stores in the United States and Canada.