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The Rise and Fall of Diamonds: The Shattering of a Brilliant Illusion
A probe of the diamond industry reveals the sources and levels of the diamond supply and the mechanism for controlling the price and availability of diamonds and discloses that this century-old system is near collapse
- GenresNonfiction
301 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 1982
18 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Edward Jay Epstein
72 books69 followersEdward Jay Epstein (born 1935) was an American investigative journalist and a former political science professor at Harvard, UCLA, and MIT. While a graduate student at Cornell University in 1966, he published the book Inquest, an influential critique of the Warren Commission probe into the John F. Kennedy assassination. Epstein wrote two other books about the Kennedy assassination, eventually collected in The Assassination Chronicles: Inquest, Counterplot, and Legend (1992). His books Legend (1978) and Deception (1989) drew on interviews with retired CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton, and his 1982 book The Rise and Fall of Diamonds was an expose of the diamond industry and its economic impact in southern Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 27, 2015
It's a lie! It's all a lie!
I am absolutely floored! A serious must read for any couple considering engagement! Diamonds are literally a market construct! I can't even tell you how shattered I am…
To think that I have been manipulated my entire life by a company attempting to sell semi precious stones as precious stones merely to make a buck… It's a farce! Seriously, this is a biblical proportions! I'm so embarrassed to admit they initially argued with my boyfriend about his anti-did beer stands… Never again! I want nothing to do with this company, or the crap they hock!
I am absolutely floored! A serious must read for any couple considering engagement! Diamonds are literally a market construct! I can't even tell you how shattered I am…
To think that I have been manipulated my entire life by a company attempting to sell semi precious stones as precious stones merely to make a buck… It's a farce! Seriously, this is a biblical proportions! I'm so embarrassed to admit they initially argued with my boyfriend about his anti-did beer stands… Never again! I want nothing to do with this company, or the crap they hock!
November 13, 2016
I am an EJE fan, particularly regarding the JFK assassination (most particularly his book on the Warren Commission). Here he fills in the backstory that we all know in our gut: diamonds are tremendously overpriced due to the De Beers cartel, high retail markups, and behavior modification. More amazing than the history of De Beers from Cecil Rhodes to present, the key value was contributed by advertising agency N. W. Ayer: A Diamond is Forever. Ayer created the social link between engagements and diamond rings, most of retail sales, and keeping jewelry diamonds as keepsakes so they do not reenter the market. Well, monopolies do not last forever, and EJE predicted diamond pricing would crash in the early 1980's (when the book was written) as significant new production was about to come on stream. Turns out the Aussie diamonds are mostly colored and N. W. Ayer went out of business. Diamond prices are still high, and retail jewelry advertisements are all over the media.
FYI, some other N. W. Ayer famous ad campaigns:
Reach out and touch someone - AT&T
Be all you can be - US Army
I'd walk a mile for a Camel
When it rains it pours - Morton Salt
FYI, some other N. W. Ayer famous ad campaigns:
Reach out and touch someone - AT&T
Be all you can be - US Army
I'd walk a mile for a Camel
When it rains it pours - Morton Salt
July 27, 2012
Very interesting read although a little dated at this point. Recommended reading for anyone about to propose to their significant other so that they can make a reasoned argument that a diamond engagement ring is not an investment.
April 13, 2009
Quick read chronicling the intricacies of the diamond trade. A little outdated, but still a lot of fun.
July 29, 2010
Really interesting, and available to read online here:
http://edwardjayepstein.com/diamond/p...
http://edwardjayepstein.com/diamond/p...
July 11, 2018
While this book was fascinating and I learned so much about diamonds and their history, I have two complaints about the book that rob it of its final star.
Number one is how the book jumps back and forth between the years - one chapter you are reading about the 1940s, then the next about an issues that shows up in the 70s, and then back to the 50s to explore something else. It makes it very difficult to visualize the chronology of how everything developed.
Number two is the prologue at the end (which was dearly needed as the book is almost 40 years out of date) doesn't address the fact that De Beers has long lost its monopoly over diamonds in the 21st century. They now have only about 35% of the market according to Wikipedia. Since the entire book is about the De Beers monopoly and how they held on to it throughout the 2oth century, it seems odd and misleading to let the reader think that at the time of the prologue (2011) this was still the case. The book needs to be updated with a chapter on how they lost their monopoly and got to where they are today.
Still, this book will teach you more than you imagined about how diamonds are mined and sent across the world to be polished and refined into what you buy, as well as how often the diamond industry intervened in world politics just to maintain their monopoly, screwing everyone else. Not to mention that massive marketing campaign that created the all-pervasive diamond engagement ring tradition out of thin air in the 1950s. Interesting and frequently eye-opening.
Number one is how the book jumps back and forth between the years - one chapter you are reading about the 1940s, then the next about an issues that shows up in the 70s, and then back to the 50s to explore something else. It makes it very difficult to visualize the chronology of how everything developed.
Number two is the prologue at the end (which was dearly needed as the book is almost 40 years out of date) doesn't address the fact that De Beers has long lost its monopoly over diamonds in the 21st century. They now have only about 35% of the market according to Wikipedia. Since the entire book is about the De Beers monopoly and how they held on to it throughout the 2oth century, it seems odd and misleading to let the reader think that at the time of the prologue (2011) this was still the case. The book needs to be updated with a chapter on how they lost their monopoly and got to where they are today.
Still, this book will teach you more than you imagined about how diamonds are mined and sent across the world to be polished and refined into what you buy, as well as how often the diamond industry intervened in world politics just to maintain their monopoly, screwing everyone else. Not to mention that massive marketing campaign that created the all-pervasive diamond engagement ring tradition out of thin air in the 1950s. Interesting and frequently eye-opening.
September 16, 2024
Incredible recount of how DeBeers became a diamond cartel. I think Epstein does a great job of breaking down the geology and engineering of diamond mining into a digestible way.
Fantastic level of investigative journalism with high level of criticality. My only critique is that some of the time jumps exposing varying parts of the diamond cartel are at times confusing. As well, since this is an old book, sometimes on kindle the words and numbers are incorrect. Great read for anyone who wants to learn more about diamonds.
Fantastic level of investigative journalism with high level of criticality. My only critique is that some of the time jumps exposing varying parts of the diamond cartel are at times confusing. As well, since this is an old book, sometimes on kindle the words and numbers are incorrect. Great read for anyone who wants to learn more about diamonds.
November 27, 2017
I thought this was an excellent book about the 'diamond invention', informative and engagingly written. My only complaint was the large number of formatting errors caused by the ebook conversion process - but that hasn't stopped me from reading and enjoying the book several times!
gone-gave-away
March 22, 20241982 hardback.
Epstein is famous in JFK Assassination circles.
He started off conspiracy, but migrated away from that, for some reason [financial?].
Keeping for next high brow dinner party conversations brush-up.
Epstein is famous in JFK Assassination circles.
He started off conspiracy, but migrated away from that, for some reason [financial?].
Keeping for next high brow dinner party conversations brush-up.
March 28, 2023
Incredible history!
Incredible history! Immaculate and impressive research work! Firm writing, able to hold the reader from beginning to end. Best story I read in several years!
Incredible history! Immaculate and impressive research work! Firm writing, able to hold the reader from beginning to end. Best story I read in several years!
June 22, 2024
Great business story about De Beers
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews