Simmons on gem of a trip Russell Simmons and Petra Nemcova (not pictured) are jetting off to Africa, where they plan to tour diamond mines. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is heading to Africa on a fact-finding mission. Besides informing his bling-wearing buddies about the plight of diamond workers, the trip might just bring Simmons closer to his new best friend, supermodel Petra Nemcova. Simmons and Nemcova are due to depart later this month for South Africa and Botswana, where they plan to tour diamond mines and factories. "I'm making a lot of money by selling diamonds," says Simmons, who works with De Beers on his line of jewelry. "I want to give my money back to the people in Africa. We're starting the Diamond Empowerment Fund to teach Africans how to cut and polish diamonds on the continent, instead of taking the diamonds out. We want more of black Africans to become executives. The diamond industry should be the leader of African empowerment." Some veteran industry observers are skeptical about whether De Beers or other companies would trust their cutting to anyone but the pros in Belgium and Israel. But Simmons' trip is bound to help the image of the firms, which are currently on the defensive as they await next month's release of the Leo DiCaprio film "Blood Diamond," which shows how gems financed Sierra Leone's bloody civil war in the 1990s. Simmons believes that the industry has made strides since then in resisting "conflict diamonds," but "the business can always get better."v The fact that Simmons is bringing Nemcova is raising some eyebrows. The tsunami-surviving model says in December's Harper's Bazaar that she's "definitely, definitely in love" with singer James Blunt. But some suspect that she's also a jewel that Simmons would love to possess. And what better way to strengthen their bond than on a humanitarian mission? While Blunt won't be accompanying them, Simmons insists that they're "just friends," and a partner in various charity project. Nemcova's also the face of Fortunoff. Simmons hopes that "Americans will know that, when they buy a diamond, it doesn't make you an a