What do you think?
Rate this book
Diamond: The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair
The history of man’s love affair with a completely useless gem. Diamonds are almost completely useless but prized above all other gems. Historically they have attracted crimes of passion and awful cold-blooded efficiency, have bedazzled the greatest filmstars and the most opulent courts, and provided the incentive for adventure, destruction and greed on a monumental scale. No one company is more identified with diamonds than the South African-based De Beers.Until the collapse of the Iron Curtain they controlled the diamond market. After the collapse, they still controlled it – once they had bought up most of the diamonds emerging from the former Soviet Union. They are secretive, discreet and very, very powerful. A strike in Northern Canada could hardly seem to trouble them. Except that it prefigured a diamond rush in a territory over which they had no influence by prospectors they did not own. And the strike promised enormous riches.Here is the true story of the strike that upset the diamond kings, and with it the history of the world’s most acclaimed diamonds, the process by which they are cut, fashioned, smuggled and stolen, the legends and superstitions that are attached to them, the characters who comprise the great diamond prospectors and, above all, of the shadowy hand of De Beers for whom diamonds are forever.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2001
About the author
Matthew Hart
12 books29 followersMatthew Hart has reported on gold and diamonds for Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal, the London Times, and many other newspapers and magazines. He was a contributing editor of the New York trade journal Rapaport Diamond Report. His award-winning book Diamond: the History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair was translated into six languages and made into a four-hour dramatic miniseries starring Sir Derek Jacobi and Judy Davis. His latest book Gold: the Race for the World’s Most Seductive Metal was adapted into a National Geographic TV special. He has traveled from the Arctic to Angola in pursuit of diamond stories. He once found a puff adder in his room, but not since moving to New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
December 2, 2020
I found this book fascinating... from a business perspective more than from a jewelry lover's. De Beers is just straight up gangster in their business dealings. As much as you cringed you also had to marvel at the balls it took to tell the world they were in charge of diamonds. Period. If you are looking for a scathing rebuke on conflict diamonds, this book is not it. If you are looking for the romantic fantasy that twinkles in each facet, keep moving. If you are looking for a brass tacks look into the secret backrooms of the diamond trade (as I was) then read away!
December 11, 2016
This book was a real eye-opener for me. I had no idea of just how much treachery, deceit, betrayal, and bloodshed can be laid at the feet of many in the diamond industry over the years. Author Matthew Hart regales many such tales in this very well written and well researched book. We learn about switching, a common sort of theft, in which diamond sorters seek to replace a higher-value stone with a lower value which he or she has brought to work, done to take advantage of a universal practice, the control of diamond inventories often primarily by weight. More common though is outright theft, which takes place anywhere from the diamonds mines to the massive diamond sorting and sale houses in London, Antwerp, and Tel Aviv. The tales of diamonds that have been smuggled out of mines are particularly interested, which have been moved out in gas tanks, have been tapped into ears, even taken away by homing pigeons and hollow arrows fired over the fences that encircle the mines. It is a common belief in the diamond industry that if a person can touch a diamond he or she will try their best to steal it; Hart chronicles the often extraordinary lengths to which the industry seeks to keep them away from human hands.
Unsavory actions often occur with diamonds even before they are found. Hart tells of prospectors who switch allegiances, finding potential diamond pipes in a particular region for one company, than going private or working for someone else when a mine is discovered (or in some cases being sold out by their employer once their use had ended). Several of these type practices were referred to in the author's excellent chapter on the rush for the diamonds of Canada's Arctic Barrens region, where prospectors often sought to claim lands ahead of other prospectors based on pure rumor, laid out false maps that were to be "found" and lead prospectors on wild goose chases, even acting out fake conversations in bars that were meant to be overhead, all to lead away the competition.
All of this unfortunately pales in comparison to the sad state of affairs that is conflict diamonds, a horrible stain, almost a scarlet letter, on the industry, a problem De Beers and others are still tackling with. Conflict diamonds, products of such war-torn African nations as Angola, have gone from being a side product of such civil wars and revolutions, something used by one side or the other to finance their activities to the very reason such wars are fought in the first place. With thousands of Africans having died in the fighting over these diamonds, both solider and innocent civilian, the civilized nations of the world have been increasingly reluctant to have anything to do with these diamonds and sometimes diamonds in general. And as diamonds from one source are sometimes difficult to distinguish from those of another source, the whole industry has had to come to grips with finding and dealing with those who deal in conflict diamonds, lest governments and the consumer do it for them. The sections on conflict diamonds are gripping and worth the price of the book alone.
In large part the book is the history the De Beers, a juggernaut of a cartel that for decades has controlled the sale, distribution, and price of diamonds worldwide. Hart chronicles the often Byzantine politics within De Beers and the industry as a whole, noting the rise and current possible decline of De Beers, which has within a decade went from a control of 80 percent of the rough market to around 50 percent. Increasingly sources outside the old cartel are offering alternatives to consumers and stiff competition to De Beers, which has been frustrated in attempts to control, discredit, or destroy such sources. They range from Russia, long uncomfortable with its partnership with De Beers and seeking its own way now; to Canada, rich with possibility in the newly discovered Arctic fields; to India, king of the small diamonds, specialists in producing huge volumes of affordable diamonds, able to polish to jewel-like quality diamonds once relegated to industrial use; to Australia, whose Argyle mine has produced a flood of diamonds, many of which are vital to the Indian diamond industry.
Hart does not forget the beauty of diamonds, nor the skill of the diamond cutter. An entire chapter is spent on the art and science of diamond cutting, with the author detailing the process by which the magnificent Centenary diamond was cut, an impressive stone with 247 facets that took 3 years and specially designed equipment to produce.
I liked how throughout the book Hart introduced many arcane terms about the diamond industry, many of which I had never heard before, ranging from sightholders (diamond buyers with a good standing in the trade, invited by De Beers sales of rough or "sights" ten times a year at the Diamond Trading Company or DTC in London) to boxes (selling mixtures of rough put together by De Beers and sold to clients at a price set by De Beers) to gletzes (a word of Dutch origin, meaning a fracture in a diamond) to knots (places inside a diamond where the structure alters, where there different orientations in the planes of the crystal) to makes (if a stone is cut so that is a brilliant as it can possibly be, it said to be the best "make").
This was a fascinating book; I highly recommend it to anyone.
Unsavory actions often occur with diamonds even before they are found. Hart tells of prospectors who switch allegiances, finding potential diamond pipes in a particular region for one company, than going private or working for someone else when a mine is discovered (or in some cases being sold out by their employer once their use had ended). Several of these type practices were referred to in the author's excellent chapter on the rush for the diamonds of Canada's Arctic Barrens region, where prospectors often sought to claim lands ahead of other prospectors based on pure rumor, laid out false maps that were to be "found" and lead prospectors on wild goose chases, even acting out fake conversations in bars that were meant to be overhead, all to lead away the competition.
All of this unfortunately pales in comparison to the sad state of affairs that is conflict diamonds, a horrible stain, almost a scarlet letter, on the industry, a problem De Beers and others are still tackling with. Conflict diamonds, products of such war-torn African nations as Angola, have gone from being a side product of such civil wars and revolutions, something used by one side or the other to finance their activities to the very reason such wars are fought in the first place. With thousands of Africans having died in the fighting over these diamonds, both solider and innocent civilian, the civilized nations of the world have been increasingly reluctant to have anything to do with these diamonds and sometimes diamonds in general. And as diamonds from one source are sometimes difficult to distinguish from those of another source, the whole industry has had to come to grips with finding and dealing with those who deal in conflict diamonds, lest governments and the consumer do it for them. The sections on conflict diamonds are gripping and worth the price of the book alone.
In large part the book is the history the De Beers, a juggernaut of a cartel that for decades has controlled the sale, distribution, and price of diamonds worldwide. Hart chronicles the often Byzantine politics within De Beers and the industry as a whole, noting the rise and current possible decline of De Beers, which has within a decade went from a control of 80 percent of the rough market to around 50 percent. Increasingly sources outside the old cartel are offering alternatives to consumers and stiff competition to De Beers, which has been frustrated in attempts to control, discredit, or destroy such sources. They range from Russia, long uncomfortable with its partnership with De Beers and seeking its own way now; to Canada, rich with possibility in the newly discovered Arctic fields; to India, king of the small diamonds, specialists in producing huge volumes of affordable diamonds, able to polish to jewel-like quality diamonds once relegated to industrial use; to Australia, whose Argyle mine has produced a flood of diamonds, many of which are vital to the Indian diamond industry.
Hart does not forget the beauty of diamonds, nor the skill of the diamond cutter. An entire chapter is spent on the art and science of diamond cutting, with the author detailing the process by which the magnificent Centenary diamond was cut, an impressive stone with 247 facets that took 3 years and specially designed equipment to produce.
I liked how throughout the book Hart introduced many arcane terms about the diamond industry, many of which I had never heard before, ranging from sightholders (diamond buyers with a good standing in the trade, invited by De Beers sales of rough or "sights" ten times a year at the Diamond Trading Company or DTC in London) to boxes (selling mixtures of rough put together by De Beers and sold to clients at a price set by De Beers) to gletzes (a word of Dutch origin, meaning a fracture in a diamond) to knots (places inside a diamond where the structure alters, where there different orientations in the planes of the crystal) to makes (if a stone is cut so that is a brilliant as it can possibly be, it said to be the best "make").
This was a fascinating book; I highly recommend it to anyone.
December 14, 2012
I really didn't start this book today and finish today. What happens is when I fly I need a book to read during take off/landing. So I bring my nook and one real book--because seriously, that's like 30 minutes of a flight and you don't expect me to sit there and do nothing.
This book is why I'm glad I have a sapphire engagement ring.
Diamonds are very pretty. They are also seriously overvalued, run by weasels, and marketed to within an inch of their lives. No other product actually sells you on the idea of how much of your paycheck you should put towards a ring. That's just silly. It would be nice to see this industry left to it's own economic devices and we could start getting diamonds in our cereal boxes.
Starting with the geology of diamonds (very cool), this book goes through the entire life cycle, including why if you see a representative of DeBeers on the street and they walk close to you, you should check that they did't steal your wallet and your watch.
Seriously, the poo that goes into getting a pretty stone is fracking mind-bending. From jumping claims in Canada to tying rough stones to homing pigeons, this industry is bonkers. Oh, but the cutting of diamonds is really fascinating.
I did like that the book never turned into "let's all look at the pretty diamonds" or anything of the sort. Instead, it's factual, well researched, and a book I was happy to keep reading even after the seatbelt light went off.
This book is why I'm glad I have a sapphire engagement ring.
Diamonds are very pretty. They are also seriously overvalued, run by weasels, and marketed to within an inch of their lives. No other product actually sells you on the idea of how much of your paycheck you should put towards a ring. That's just silly. It would be nice to see this industry left to it's own economic devices and we could start getting diamonds in our cereal boxes.
Starting with the geology of diamonds (very cool), this book goes through the entire life cycle, including why if you see a representative of DeBeers on the street and they walk close to you, you should check that they did't steal your wallet and your watch.
Seriously, the poo that goes into getting a pretty stone is fracking mind-bending. From jumping claims in Canada to tying rough stones to homing pigeons, this industry is bonkers. Oh, but the cutting of diamonds is really fascinating.
I did like that the book never turned into "let's all look at the pretty diamonds" or anything of the sort. Instead, it's factual, well researched, and a book I was happy to keep reading even after the seatbelt light went off.
February 12, 2012
A fairly good book. Covers some gaps in the previous book I read about diamonds, and goes over a lot of the same stuff. Zoellner's book I thought was better written. This one suffered from disorder. But overall not too bad, at the very least it's a super fast read.
July 26, 2026
I read this book too long ago to comment intelligently - it was interesting but dating back to 2002 I am not sure that it has not been superseded in areas like its coverage of blood diamonds. The world has changed a great deal since 2002. Still here is a review from the Guardian:
The story of diamonds has often been told, and with good reason: the mining and selling of the sparkling gems provides an exciting caricature of the extremes of capitalism. The exploration and digging in remote corners of the world; the huge investment in equipment and labour; the global networks of the diamond business De Beers; the advertising of diamonds as the key to a woman's heart - they all provide adventure stories that are also fables about men's courage, pertinacity and greed. But over the last decade diamonds have acquired a more sinister dimension, as the means by which rebellious groups in Africa can buy weaponry and finance civil wars; and it is that which gives this book a special topicality and opportunity to show expertise.
Matthew Hart, a Canadian journalist-novelist, is the editor of the trade paper Rapaport Diamond Report, and thus has unusual access to insiders. He knows how to tell a good yarn, in a brisk, gripping style; but he can also write confidently enough about carats, cutters and cleaving to give his book more authority than most previous histories. He cannot add very much to the most familiar and fundamental story, of the ruthless battles to control the diamond fields in Kimberley that led to the domination first of Cecil Rhodes and then of the Oppenheimer family, who have maintained their personal control of De Beers to this day. But he tells his tales well, with only a few lapses into purple prose ("malfeasance rustles in the background of the diamond world like a snake in dry grass").
He describes the more recent discoveries with much new information and with racy details of both the characters and the gems. His opening chapter about Brazilian diggers who discover an outsized diamond and set about marketing it through successive middle-men gives a fascinating insight into the complexities of the global business. The chapter on the young woman explorer Eira Thomas, who discovered a huge diamond field in the Canadian Arctic and thus finally broke De Beers's steely grip on the trade, could provide the material for a thrilling epic movie.
But it is his account of the diamond wars in Sierra Leone and Angola that provides his most useful contribution to historians and readers who are interested in the dangerous frontier between big business and the developing world. These civil wars show how easily rebel leaders can exploit the ambitions of multinational business in order to undermine a legitimate government, and how precious stones can reduce a fragile state to a condition of anarchy and perpetual civil war. A diamond, with its extreme portability, provides the most convenient means to turn plunder into wealth, and hence into weapons and war.
In Sierra Leone the diamond fields are far from the capital; they can sustain mercenary armies that make central government almost impossible. In Angola, the corrupt government in Luanda has control of the offshore oilfields, while the rebel army of Joseph Savimbi uses diamonds to arm its murderous guerrillas. This huge country, potentially one of the richest in Africa, is at the mercy of rival armies financed by western consumers, whose payments do not benefit the impoverished population.
It is a new version of the 19th-century "scramble for Africa", with black leaders now joined with western corporations to take out the mineral wealth of the continent without interference from the African people. The trade in "blood diamonds" or "conflict diamonds" provides an extreme case of the ruination of developing countries by the depredations of commerce and greed. No search for peace in Africa will succeed without effectively controlling the commercial interests which have helped to tear its young nations apart.
Hart, with his closeness to the diamond trade and its ingenious entrepreneurs, provides many useful insights into this deadly transformation of gems into financiers of warfare. He shows how for years De Beers was the willing beneficiary of the blood diamonds, and how it boasted of its skill in exploiting the gems whose potential it well knew to be lethal. He quotes a 1992 De Beers report that describes with cold-blooded zeal its profits from the ill-gotten wealth: "That we should have been able to buy some two-thirds of the increased supply from Angola is testimony not only to our financial strength but to the infrastructure and experienced personnel we have in place." And he dramatically describes the successful efforts of a small crusading group in north London, Global Witness, to expose the role of De Beers, which eventually compelled it to take steps against illicit diamond-selling and to try to exclude conflict diamonds from its international marketing system.
Perhaps, as the editor of a trade paper, Hart has his own inhibitions about revealing the full skulduggery of the business. He pays tribute to his own paper and its owner, the diamantaire Martin Rapaport, for revealing the secrets of De Beers; but he deals cautiously with the smooth masterminds of the corporation, including its former chairman, Julian Ogilvie Thompson, and his successor, Nicky Oppenheimer, the third generation of the billionaire family which built up the monopoly.
It would be interesting to know more about the many intermediaries between the diamond-diggers in the fields of Angola and Sierra Leone and the grandiose offices of De Beers in London, where the spoils of war have been cleansed to provide huge profits for share holders and elegant sparklers for innocent brides. And there is certainly more to be said about the intricate financial deal by which the Oppenheimer family will now retain effective control of the global giant, while loosening dependence on South Africa and its black government.
Hart seems convinced that De Beers is now totally determined to stamp out the trade in smuggled diamonds, and to identify them in the marketplace through new technological devices. But the relations between De Beers and the mercenary armies remain shrouded in mystery; and De Beers is still one of the least transparent of the big corporations. Many diamonds in rings or necklaces have played a part in financing massacres and chaos which neither their wearers nor their suppliers care to investigate too closely. The full story of the illicit trade is still to emerge.
But this book provides a highly readable and well-informed guide for those who want to know more about the underside of this outwardly glamorous business. Anyone who looks at the glittering window displays of jewellery shops will think rather differently after reading it.
From: https://www.theguardian.com/books/200....
The story of diamonds has often been told, and with good reason: the mining and selling of the sparkling gems provides an exciting caricature of the extremes of capitalism. The exploration and digging in remote corners of the world; the huge investment in equipment and labour; the global networks of the diamond business De Beers; the advertising of diamonds as the key to a woman's heart - they all provide adventure stories that are also fables about men's courage, pertinacity and greed. But over the last decade diamonds have acquired a more sinister dimension, as the means by which rebellious groups in Africa can buy weaponry and finance civil wars; and it is that which gives this book a special topicality and opportunity to show expertise.
Matthew Hart, a Canadian journalist-novelist, is the editor of the trade paper Rapaport Diamond Report, and thus has unusual access to insiders. He knows how to tell a good yarn, in a brisk, gripping style; but he can also write confidently enough about carats, cutters and cleaving to give his book more authority than most previous histories. He cannot add very much to the most familiar and fundamental story, of the ruthless battles to control the diamond fields in Kimberley that led to the domination first of Cecil Rhodes and then of the Oppenheimer family, who have maintained their personal control of De Beers to this day. But he tells his tales well, with only a few lapses into purple prose ("malfeasance rustles in the background of the diamond world like a snake in dry grass").
He describes the more recent discoveries with much new information and with racy details of both the characters and the gems. His opening chapter about Brazilian diggers who discover an outsized diamond and set about marketing it through successive middle-men gives a fascinating insight into the complexities of the global business. The chapter on the young woman explorer Eira Thomas, who discovered a huge diamond field in the Canadian Arctic and thus finally broke De Beers's steely grip on the trade, could provide the material for a thrilling epic movie.
But it is his account of the diamond wars in Sierra Leone and Angola that provides his most useful contribution to historians and readers who are interested in the dangerous frontier between big business and the developing world. These civil wars show how easily rebel leaders can exploit the ambitions of multinational business in order to undermine a legitimate government, and how precious stones can reduce a fragile state to a condition of anarchy and perpetual civil war. A diamond, with its extreme portability, provides the most convenient means to turn plunder into wealth, and hence into weapons and war.
In Sierra Leone the diamond fields are far from the capital; they can sustain mercenary armies that make central government almost impossible. In Angola, the corrupt government in Luanda has control of the offshore oilfields, while the rebel army of Joseph Savimbi uses diamonds to arm its murderous guerrillas. This huge country, potentially one of the richest in Africa, is at the mercy of rival armies financed by western consumers, whose payments do not benefit the impoverished population.
It is a new version of the 19th-century "scramble for Africa", with black leaders now joined with western corporations to take out the mineral wealth of the continent without interference from the African people. The trade in "blood diamonds" or "conflict diamonds" provides an extreme case of the ruination of developing countries by the depredations of commerce and greed. No search for peace in Africa will succeed without effectively controlling the commercial interests which have helped to tear its young nations apart.
Hart, with his closeness to the diamond trade and its ingenious entrepreneurs, provides many useful insights into this deadly transformation of gems into financiers of warfare. He shows how for years De Beers was the willing beneficiary of the blood diamonds, and how it boasted of its skill in exploiting the gems whose potential it well knew to be lethal. He quotes a 1992 De Beers report that describes with cold-blooded zeal its profits from the ill-gotten wealth: "That we should have been able to buy some two-thirds of the increased supply from Angola is testimony not only to our financial strength but to the infrastructure and experienced personnel we have in place." And he dramatically describes the successful efforts of a small crusading group in north London, Global Witness, to expose the role of De Beers, which eventually compelled it to take steps against illicit diamond-selling and to try to exclude conflict diamonds from its international marketing system.
Perhaps, as the editor of a trade paper, Hart has his own inhibitions about revealing the full skulduggery of the business. He pays tribute to his own paper and its owner, the diamantaire Martin Rapaport, for revealing the secrets of De Beers; but he deals cautiously with the smooth masterminds of the corporation, including its former chairman, Julian Ogilvie Thompson, and his successor, Nicky Oppenheimer, the third generation of the billionaire family which built up the monopoly.
It would be interesting to know more about the many intermediaries between the diamond-diggers in the fields of Angola and Sierra Leone and the grandiose offices of De Beers in London, where the spoils of war have been cleansed to provide huge profits for share holders and elegant sparklers for innocent brides. And there is certainly more to be said about the intricate financial deal by which the Oppenheimer family will now retain effective control of the global giant, while loosening dependence on South Africa and its black government.
Hart seems convinced that De Beers is now totally determined to stamp out the trade in smuggled diamonds, and to identify them in the marketplace through new technological devices. But the relations between De Beers and the mercenary armies remain shrouded in mystery; and De Beers is still one of the least transparent of the big corporations. Many diamonds in rings or necklaces have played a part in financing massacres and chaos which neither their wearers nor their suppliers care to investigate too closely. The full story of the illicit trade is still to emerge.
But this book provides a highly readable and well-informed guide for those who want to know more about the underside of this outwardly glamorous business. Anyone who looks at the glittering window displays of jewellery shops will think rather differently after reading it.
From: https://www.theguardian.com/books/200....
October 18, 2020
I hardly ever check who the author is when I read a book, in part because I only start caring 50% of the way into the book who the author is and because I don't want to pre-judge a book based on a short description of the author. That being said, "Diamond" is a book that makes a lot more sense once you find out Matthew Hart was the editor of Rapaport Diamond, a trade magazine for the industry.
On one hand, Hart has incredible access to the world and is super knowledgeable about trade, the various mines, and also the De Beers cartel. On the other side, his criticisms of the trade are light. The diamond industry is filled with, let's be frank, bad people, starting with Cecil Rhodes in the second-half of the 1800s up to the blood diamonds. But even when discussing the blood diamonds, Hart focuses on what the industry is doing to keep blood diamonds out of the market, rather than on the people hurt by the trade. You'll be reading a chapter on Rhodes and keep expecting a scathing analysis of his doings that never comes. And the times when Hart focuses on villainy, it's on the side of the workers stealing diamonds from mines, not on the low wages and bad work environments that the average diamond miner lives in. Additionally, some descriptions of the indigenous tribes in Canada (and people in other "3rd world" countries) really wouldn't fly nowadays.
You'll still learn a lot from "Diamond" (though I am curious to learn how the industry has changed in the 20 years since the books publication), but it will be skewed.
On one hand, Hart has incredible access to the world and is super knowledgeable about trade, the various mines, and also the De Beers cartel. On the other side, his criticisms of the trade are light. The diamond industry is filled with, let's be frank, bad people, starting with Cecil Rhodes in the second-half of the 1800s up to the blood diamonds. But even when discussing the blood diamonds, Hart focuses on what the industry is doing to keep blood diamonds out of the market, rather than on the people hurt by the trade. You'll be reading a chapter on Rhodes and keep expecting a scathing analysis of his doings that never comes. And the times when Hart focuses on villainy, it's on the side of the workers stealing diamonds from mines, not on the low wages and bad work environments that the average diamond miner lives in. Additionally, some descriptions of the indigenous tribes in Canada (and people in other "3rd world" countries) really wouldn't fly nowadays.
You'll still learn a lot from "Diamond" (though I am curious to learn how the industry has changed in the 20 years since the books publication), but it will be skewed.
March 24, 2009
Not as compelling a narrative as I thought it might be. If you like National Geographic articles, it might be for you.
September 21, 2021
Who knew a book about this gem could be so interesting...
From the thuggish behavior of diamond bemoth, De Beers, and its cartel that controls on the price of diamonds, to diamond exploration and finding the spot for the next new diamond mine. I had previously thought that South Africa was the only place diamonds were mined, but they have been found in South America, India, Russia, Botswana, Australia, and Canada. The book begins with the story of 3 Brazilian miners who discover a 81 carat rough pink diamond on the banks of a river in Brazil, and their quest to build a 'story' around the stone, and thus increase its value.
Diamonds come from volcanic pipes in the oldest part of the earth's crust. What begins as extremely compressed organic matter can yield diamonds, or common graphite. The search for the soil that gives you diamonds is an inexact science, and one that takes lots of examination before spending the money on a mine.
You learn about the business of diamonds, the experience and talent of diamond cutters... One wrong move in cutting a diamond, and it can shatter. Sometimes it takes a lengthy examination of the rough diamond before attempting a cut.
And then there are the stories behind the world's biggest, and most famous diamonds.
"Diamonds are the dark and the light. They are windows polished into the heart of man. They have existed in the universe since before the Earth and the Sun. Those most ancient diamonds were showered into space in the inconceivable cyclones of exploding stars. In our own planet, at depths of a hundred miles, carbon formed into diamond crystals, which are both impervious and frail. Many diamonds abandoned their form and vanished into graphite on their journey to the light. Something of that ineffable fragility remains present in the jewel. When the Persian conqueror Nadir Shah overran Delhi he ransacked the mogul's palace for the most famous diamond of the world until finally one of the harem women revealed that the emperor kept the jewel hidden in his turban."
The Shah then invited the defeated ruler to a feast, where, is the custom, there is an exchange of turbans. The mogul couldn't refuse, and the Shah took the offered turban, and put it on his head. Later, he unraveled the turban, and found the diamond. Koh-i-Noor, which means the Mountain of Light.
"The diamond trade unpackages and sells this light. No doubt they are a bit corrupted by it. A mound of clean rough is an intoxicating heap: It throbs with potential light. If you plunge in your hands, the stones feel like silk: they slide through your fingers with a hiss. They come from the hammer stroke of creation. The diamond cutter must interrogate the visible record of a diamond's past, then put the diamond to the wheel. Somewhere now the big stone that the garimpieros suctioned from the Abaete (river) on a hot May morning has been transformed into a tango of pink light. Or else shattered into dust. That's the great adventure."
Quite the fascinating book.
From the thuggish behavior of diamond bemoth, De Beers, and its cartel that controls on the price of diamonds, to diamond exploration and finding the spot for the next new diamond mine. I had previously thought that South Africa was the only place diamonds were mined, but they have been found in South America, India, Russia, Botswana, Australia, and Canada. The book begins with the story of 3 Brazilian miners who discover a 81 carat rough pink diamond on the banks of a river in Brazil, and their quest to build a 'story' around the stone, and thus increase its value.
Diamonds come from volcanic pipes in the oldest part of the earth's crust. What begins as extremely compressed organic matter can yield diamonds, or common graphite. The search for the soil that gives you diamonds is an inexact science, and one that takes lots of examination before spending the money on a mine.
You learn about the business of diamonds, the experience and talent of diamond cutters... One wrong move in cutting a diamond, and it can shatter. Sometimes it takes a lengthy examination of the rough diamond before attempting a cut.
And then there are the stories behind the world's biggest, and most famous diamonds.
"Diamonds are the dark and the light. They are windows polished into the heart of man. They have existed in the universe since before the Earth and the Sun. Those most ancient diamonds were showered into space in the inconceivable cyclones of exploding stars. In our own planet, at depths of a hundred miles, carbon formed into diamond crystals, which are both impervious and frail. Many diamonds abandoned their form and vanished into graphite on their journey to the light. Something of that ineffable fragility remains present in the jewel. When the Persian conqueror Nadir Shah overran Delhi he ransacked the mogul's palace for the most famous diamond of the world until finally one of the harem women revealed that the emperor kept the jewel hidden in his turban."
The Shah then invited the defeated ruler to a feast, where, is the custom, there is an exchange of turbans. The mogul couldn't refuse, and the Shah took the offered turban, and put it on his head. Later, he unraveled the turban, and found the diamond. Koh-i-Noor, which means the Mountain of Light.
"The diamond trade unpackages and sells this light. No doubt they are a bit corrupted by it. A mound of clean rough is an intoxicating heap: It throbs with potential light. If you plunge in your hands, the stones feel like silk: they slide through your fingers with a hiss. They come from the hammer stroke of creation. The diamond cutter must interrogate the visible record of a diamond's past, then put the diamond to the wheel. Somewhere now the big stone that the garimpieros suctioned from the Abaete (river) on a hot May morning has been transformed into a tango of pink light. Or else shattered into dust. That's the great adventure."
Quite the fascinating book.
January 23, 2019
This was incredibly disappointing, as it provides nothing you come to expect from this genre (a deep dive into a specific industry, product, etc.).
Expectation: Here's where diamonds have featured in our history. This is how mining them began and how it developed into what it is now. These were some key people, here were some really important stones over the centuries, and so on.
Reality: An incredibly boring, tedious narrative about mid-20th-century diamond cartels, with random tangents about famous stones for 2 paragraphs here and there and interjections about the actual process (e.g. finally talking about how and why diamonds are cut and polished the way they are 90% of the way into the book).
It suffers from a lack of logical organization, and missing a lot of the key features of microhistories which are what draw people into them.
Example:
I really, really don't care about the day by day details of how two companies literally dropped stakes from helicopters to claim land for mining rights (of note, there is exactly zero actual explanation of how this process works or why we use it, which would probably be pretty interesting since the idea of "hammer literal stakes around a piece of land and suddenly it's yours" is really strange). I might be interested in how that system came to be, since it's so strange, but I really don't care that bad weather delayed this process once.
It's an odd case where I want to ask for more detail, but the text is incredibly detailed.....just about the wrong things. Focus more on the technical side of the trade, on the cultural history, on the role these things have played in larger history (like the big about India and the British monarchy was a good bit of this book, expand upon that more)....and cut back on the tedious minutiae of how DeBeers does business or play by plays of claiming land.
Overall, I learned some things, but not the things I wanted to learn, and I was mostly just bored.
Side note: My copy lacked all of the images, and formatting removed all quotes, which made it rough as well. I also have no idea if this is a formatting glitch local to me or the book is actually like this, but the complete lack of any chapter or section structure was also very trying.
Expectation: Here's where diamonds have featured in our history. This is how mining them began and how it developed into what it is now. These were some key people, here were some really important stones over the centuries, and so on.
Reality: An incredibly boring, tedious narrative about mid-20th-century diamond cartels, with random tangents about famous stones for 2 paragraphs here and there and interjections about the actual process (e.g. finally talking about how and why diamonds are cut and polished the way they are 90% of the way into the book).
It suffers from a lack of logical organization, and missing a lot of the key features of microhistories which are what draw people into them.
Example:
I really, really don't care about the day by day details of how two companies literally dropped stakes from helicopters to claim land for mining rights (of note, there is exactly zero actual explanation of how this process works or why we use it, which would probably be pretty interesting since the idea of "hammer literal stakes around a piece of land and suddenly it's yours" is really strange). I might be interested in how that system came to be, since it's so strange, but I really don't care that bad weather delayed this process once.
It's an odd case where I want to ask for more detail, but the text is incredibly detailed.....just about the wrong things. Focus more on the technical side of the trade, on the cultural history, on the role these things have played in larger history (like the big about India and the British monarchy was a good bit of this book, expand upon that more)....and cut back on the tedious minutiae of how DeBeers does business or play by plays of claiming land.
Overall, I learned some things, but not the things I wanted to learn, and I was mostly just bored.
Side note: My copy lacked all of the images, and formatting removed all quotes, which made it rough as well. I also have no idea if this is a formatting glitch local to me or the book is actually like this, but the complete lack of any chapter or section structure was also very trying.
December 14, 2021
What a very well written book! I loved learning about the diamond trade and its history, especially as someone aspiring to be a geologist/mineralogist. I also enjoyed the background insight and stories into various famous diamonds and how they came to be discovered and cut. This book gave numbers, dates, names, how processes work, yet still was able to convey interesting information in a beautifully written, easy to read book.
The parts about the holes, flaws, security risks, and thievery in the diamond world are very interesting to learn and think about. It makes me wonder where each diamond in any given American jewelry store has gotten its goods from. As someone who's looking for various career ideas, I think it would be interesting to track down where America's diamonds really come from, whether there are stores out there that don't even know such information, and what should be done in cases where diamonds are found to be, say, conflict diamonds from particular countries.
I would love for Matthew Hart to write a sequel -- something about how lab diamonds have or have not influenced or changed the diamond trade. What are the odds that people have swapped out real diamonds for lab grown?
Another note: The most shocking realization I had while reading this book was the fact that DIAMONDS (overall) ARE NOT RARE! Granted, certain types of diamonds are indeed rare, such as red diamonds, black diamonds, and blue diamonds. Based off the information and myriad of diamond mine locations throughout the world, it makes me wonder how other gem minerals compare in number. I know that garnets are pretty common -- you can find them in everyday granite countertops (that's right, if you have granite countertops with semi-translucent red spots, those are probably garnets!). This book makes me think that gem-quality sapphires, rubies, topaz, and tanzanite for sure, etc, are much more rare than diamonds will ever be. I really had no idea!
10/10 definitely recommend reading for anyone who's a jewelry person, a fan of diamonds, a geologist or mineralogist, or just interested in fun history, that you read this book. It's not even a terribly long read!
The parts about the holes, flaws, security risks, and thievery in the diamond world are very interesting to learn and think about. It makes me wonder where each diamond in any given American jewelry store has gotten its goods from. As someone who's looking for various career ideas, I think it would be interesting to track down where America's diamonds really come from, whether there are stores out there that don't even know such information, and what should be done in cases where diamonds are found to be, say, conflict diamonds from particular countries.
I would love for Matthew Hart to write a sequel -- something about how lab diamonds have or have not influenced or changed the diamond trade. What are the odds that people have swapped out real diamonds for lab grown?
Another note: The most shocking realization I had while reading this book was the fact that DIAMONDS (overall) ARE NOT RARE! Granted, certain types of diamonds are indeed rare, such as red diamonds, black diamonds, and blue diamonds. Based off the information and myriad of diamond mine locations throughout the world, it makes me wonder how other gem minerals compare in number. I know that garnets are pretty common -- you can find them in everyday granite countertops (that's right, if you have granite countertops with semi-translucent red spots, those are probably garnets!). This book makes me think that gem-quality sapphires, rubies, topaz, and tanzanite for sure, etc, are much more rare than diamonds will ever be. I really had no idea!
10/10 definitely recommend reading for anyone who's a jewelry person, a fan of diamonds, a geologist or mineralogist, or just interested in fun history, that you read this book. It's not even a terribly long read!
February 28, 2020
Mediocre entry in the "microhistory of individual commodities" genre. The book suffers from its (presumed) origin as unrelated magazine articles. We get too much detail in individual vignettes of a prospector finding a pink diamond in Brazil, or a wedding among Indian diamond magnates, and not nearly enough of the big-picture story. I'm sure there is a fascinating story of how the wealth and power of DeBeers influenced South Africa's development as a nation (to give one example), but it's not covered here. And, why, in a chapter discussing some famous historical diamonds, are there no photographs or drawings of the diamonds themselves, yet elsewhere in the book, we have lots of photos of mundane individuals involved in the diamond trade? There are a few interesting pieces, particularly the discussion of conflict diamonds and how to guarantee a "conflict-free" diamond, but not enough. If your interest is in the geology and mineral exploration aspect of diamonds, I recommend "Barren Lands" by Kevin Krajick - it covers the story of diamond discoveries in Arctic Canada much better than this book does.
July 3, 2017
This was fascinating. The story starts "On a hot morning in May, 1999, three garimpeiros (small-scale miners) found a large pink diamond in the muddy waters of the Abaete River in Brazil, a discovery that captivated the entire diamond trade. Beginning with this dramatic and revealing tale, Matthew Hart embarks on a journey into an obsessive, largely hidden, and utterly fascinating world."
Well written, and strangely almost as obsessive as the colourful diamond miners who fill the pages with their exploits, wheeling and dealing and adventures.
"A great gem collects great tales, adding to its status as a jewel."
Read my full review here.
Well written, and strangely almost as obsessive as the colourful diamond miners who fill the pages with their exploits, wheeling and dealing and adventures.
"A great gem collects great tales, adding to its status as a jewel."
Read my full review here.
January 31, 2019
This was an informative book--it covered diamond formation, the various places where diamonds are found in the world, technological developments in diamond mining, the development of the diamond market, marketing diamonds to the consumer, diamond cutting, etc. The writing was clear and yet, despite each chapter focusing on individuals involved in the various aspects of diamond production, often in what seemed highly charged hunts or negotiations, I was always at a certain remove from the stories. Why are diamonds so highly prized? Well, they're pretty. Useless, but pretty. Why are they worthy of the emotional connection invested in them? Well, diamonds with stories attached sell better. I felt better educated but less interested in the subject at the end of the book.
September 12, 2020
This book centers on the rise of the modern diamond business in the last 150 years. Hart pays particular attention to how the diamond cartel was formed and the lengths to which it went to maintain its hold on the market, showcasing along the way the intense search by geologists across the world for new mines. Hart also discusses at length the sale, theft, as well as the great amount of science that goes into finding and polishing these gems. While I would have enjoyed a discussion as to how these stones came to occupy the high place they do in our culture, the book serves as a good introduction to the reader of all the components of the modern diamond industry.
December 18, 2022
I debated giving this book 3 stars, but it's more of a 2.5 for me. It took me so I long to painfully get through it, I very much wanted to put it down a little under halfway through, but I was hoping maybe it would get better. I was drawn in by the cover, and the National Geographic review on the back.
This book is more of a short stories collection about diamonds every chapter, and a lot of it I found exhaustingly boring. My favorite stories contained in the book were about Gabi Tolkowsky and the Centennary (which mind you, wasn't till twenty pages from the end) and Eira Thomas' dog, Thor.
This book is more of a short stories collection about diamonds every chapter, and a lot of it I found exhaustingly boring. My favorite stories contained in the book were about Gabi Tolkowsky and the Centennary (which mind you, wasn't till twenty pages from the end) and Eira Thomas' dog, Thor.
November 24, 2025
I really enjoyed the writers book on Gold,so I thought I'd give this book a try.I listened to the audio version,which I later discovered is abridged. This made listening to this like one endless chapter. There are some intresting stories told and some interesting thing to learn,such as a typical diamond has 58 facets. The narrator speak clearly,but his voice is like a whisper,so I had to strain to hear him at times. The chapters in the audio version are not clearly deliniated. Maybe someday I'll buy the actual book and re-read it and raise my rating,but this book let me down due to being both abridged and broken into giant,incoherent parts.
November 14, 2019
3.5⭐️
Taking a well rounded approach to the history of the diamond industry, this book provides the reader with information on the history (both good and bad) of the industry, details on how diamonds are made and found, and the process of how they start in the ground to when they end up in jewelry. I really enjoyed the focus on the mafia style actions of the De Beers company and stories behind the discovery and changes of ownership for very well known named diamond. Definitely an interesting read for anyone and would highly suggest the audiobook.
Taking a well rounded approach to the history of the diamond industry, this book provides the reader with information on the history (both good and bad) of the industry, details on how diamonds are made and found, and the process of how they start in the ground to when they end up in jewelry. I really enjoyed the focus on the mafia style actions of the De Beers company and stories behind the discovery and changes of ownership for very well known named diamond. Definitely an interesting read for anyone and would highly suggest the audiobook.
July 2, 2026
I took a shot in the dark with this one and I’m glad I did. I came in knowing nothing about diamonds except for the one time I bought one for my now-wife. But there is so much to learn, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that — from the mining to the discovery to the theft to the polishing and the “war diamond” controversy — every facet of the diamond industry reads like a thriller. Highly recommend this for anyone with even a casual interest in learning about the world’s most captivating rock.
November 19, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is easy to read, full of fascinating stories, and looks at the topic -diamonds- from a variety of different perspectives.
Whether it is Geology, Colonial exploitation, Corporate Politics, Criminal exploits and corruption, Royal and Wealthy History, Advertising and Brand Management, or just stories of intrepid individuals, it is all in the book.
I am sure there is much more he could have covered but this was more than enough to educate and entertain.
Whether it is Geology, Colonial exploitation, Corporate Politics, Criminal exploits and corruption, Royal and Wealthy History, Advertising and Brand Management, or just stories of intrepid individuals, it is all in the book.
I am sure there is much more he could have covered but this was more than enough to educate and entertain.
June 8, 2022
Overall good, but I had trouble following some of the business aspects, but that is definitely not my wheelhouse. I'd love to see this updated to include the last 20 years, and this is a book that screams out for glossy color pictures of famous diamonds. I think my Google algorithm is now completely thrown off by me searching for named gems.
August 1, 2023
As a Geologist I really appreciate this book. I have some coworkers who used to work for DeBeers and can corroborate a bunch of stuff said in this book. Also very pleased that he explains the science of diamond deposits in a way most non geologists can understand. Looking forward to reading his book about Gold!
May 21, 2022
“All that glitters …”. Diamonds have long captured our imagination, and this book gives a well informed guide to the under belly of the diamond trade in recent years and how diamonds became such a highly prized gem, for both the romantics and warlords.
January 12, 2018
Dragged a bit but overall interesting and informative
July 22, 2018
3.5/5
March 25, 2021
Parts of this book were really interesting!! Parts were really boring. All in all, felt like a very disjointed read.
February 9, 2022
Droga przez mękę. Dużo akcji, dużo miejsc i skomplikowanych fachowych opisów, w których się gubiłam.
Read
December 29, 2024Educational and exciting in places.
August 9, 2026
I learned some fun facts, but they were buried and rare like a diamond. Well researched but not well written or edited.
December 22, 2009
If you know nothing about diamonds and the diamond industry, I would recommend this as an introduction to the issue. If you really want to know how the diamond industry works, how the Kimberly process works, and how De Beers fell from its position as a monopolistic world-power, read From Mine to Mistress by Chaim Even-Zohar (it's about 800 pages, minus the appendices, but the first hundred pages are enough to open your eyes and overload your brain).
People tend to want to think of De Beers and diamond mining in black-and-white terms, usually portraying them as evil capitalist enterprises that rape the land, screw native populations, and rob the consumer. However, it is a very complicated industry. A few things to note:
- First of all, the diamond industry isn't very fast-paced and cut-throat, the most intense competition has to do with the process to become a sight-holder. Diamonds pass through about a dozen different hands, from mining to cutting and polishing to setting in jewelry, and through several levels of distributors before reaching a jewelry store. For the most part, the industry is based on trust and a hand-shake, which is not to say that there are no contracts. Rather, it is involves a lot of reputation. You don't get a good reputation by being cut-throat, you get it by being honest in an industry full of con-artists and get-rich-quick schemers.
- De Beers, until recently, did not sell diamonds to the public. As covered in the book, there is a complicated system of selling to "sight-holders," who are then the distributors of the product. De Beers was, by law, not allowed to sell to the public because it held an unfair advantage over competitors (because a branch of De Beers previously bought and distributed almost all diamonds mined).
- De Beers sort of was a benevolent dictator. It worked hard to keep prices from roller-coaster-ing, such as when the USSR collapsed and dumped massive stockpiles of diamonds onto the market. This may not seem important, but it is because many people invest in gems like they do in gold. Take, for example, the unregulated tanzanite industry. Tanzanite prices boomed and busted according to natural disasters and local politics, so many consumers invested in the inflated prices of a stone most commonly seen today on home-shopping networks.
- De Beers has recently been breaking away from its role as a monopoly because it was no longer profitable. The work they did benefited everyone, at great expense only to De Beers. We all know the name "De Beers" because they are responsible for a lot of advertising, including making it standard to buy a diamond engagement ring. However, as it lost its control over the market, the good PR and advertising that De Beers did was benefiting all producers. Since they have now made the move to open retail operations, it is in a position to gain from its investment in the De Beers name.
- De Beers owns many mines, but most mines are owned by other corporations such as Rio Tinto, who often had contracts to sell their diamonds to De Beers. These contracts were what led mines, such as Australia's Argyle mine, to awkward situations where they had to sit on product and wait to sell it in times of flooded markets, or required the company to sell their product to De Beers and then buy it back in order to sell to their own clients. This is what contributed to the downfall of De Beers, as producers decided to break contracts.
- Diamond mines do not follow the European "rape the land, take the product, local populations be damned" approach to business for several reasons. First of all, it looks very bad and that doesn't sell diamonds. Secondly, it takes decades of research and millions of dollars to even locate a mine, and another few hundred million to develop it. It is a huge investment, and it only takes one coup to lose it all. Diamond mining corporations try to keep the locals happy by giving (safe, well-paying) jobs to locals, building schools and hospitals, and keeping diamond-cutting operations within the country instead of sending them to India. The last of these is done in part because most countries impose massive taxes on taking rough diamonds out of the country.
- Only a very small portion of Africa is actually involved in "blood diamond" conflicts. "Blood diamond" refers to the sale of diamonds to finance military operations (sometimes coups, sometimes genocide), which is often motivated by groups vying for control of mines and deposits. The Kimberly process was implemented to require certification - at the mine site - of all diamonds above a certain size. There are many laws, such as that you can not travel with a rough diamond unless you have certification of its source, which make it very difficult to buy and sell blood diamonds. There still is a large black-market trade for these diamonds, but it is minuscule compared to the black market trade in weapons, drugs, and humans. Still, the blood diamond controversy has helped sell Canadian diamonds at much higher prices.
People tend to want to think of De Beers and diamond mining in black-and-white terms, usually portraying them as evil capitalist enterprises that rape the land, screw native populations, and rob the consumer. However, it is a very complicated industry. A few things to note:
- First of all, the diamond industry isn't very fast-paced and cut-throat, the most intense competition has to do with the process to become a sight-holder. Diamonds pass through about a dozen different hands, from mining to cutting and polishing to setting in jewelry, and through several levels of distributors before reaching a jewelry store. For the most part, the industry is based on trust and a hand-shake, which is not to say that there are no contracts. Rather, it is involves a lot of reputation. You don't get a good reputation by being cut-throat, you get it by being honest in an industry full of con-artists and get-rich-quick schemers.
- De Beers, until recently, did not sell diamonds to the public. As covered in the book, there is a complicated system of selling to "sight-holders," who are then the distributors of the product. De Beers was, by law, not allowed to sell to the public because it held an unfair advantage over competitors (because a branch of De Beers previously bought and distributed almost all diamonds mined).
- De Beers sort of was a benevolent dictator. It worked hard to keep prices from roller-coaster-ing, such as when the USSR collapsed and dumped massive stockpiles of diamonds onto the market. This may not seem important, but it is because many people invest in gems like they do in gold. Take, for example, the unregulated tanzanite industry. Tanzanite prices boomed and busted according to natural disasters and local politics, so many consumers invested in the inflated prices of a stone most commonly seen today on home-shopping networks.
- De Beers has recently been breaking away from its role as a monopoly because it was no longer profitable. The work they did benefited everyone, at great expense only to De Beers. We all know the name "De Beers" because they are responsible for a lot of advertising, including making it standard to buy a diamond engagement ring. However, as it lost its control over the market, the good PR and advertising that De Beers did was benefiting all producers. Since they have now made the move to open retail operations, it is in a position to gain from its investment in the De Beers name.
- De Beers owns many mines, but most mines are owned by other corporations such as Rio Tinto, who often had contracts to sell their diamonds to De Beers. These contracts were what led mines, such as Australia's Argyle mine, to awkward situations where they had to sit on product and wait to sell it in times of flooded markets, or required the company to sell their product to De Beers and then buy it back in order to sell to their own clients. This is what contributed to the downfall of De Beers, as producers decided to break contracts.
- Diamond mines do not follow the European "rape the land, take the product, local populations be damned" approach to business for several reasons. First of all, it looks very bad and that doesn't sell diamonds. Secondly, it takes decades of research and millions of dollars to even locate a mine, and another few hundred million to develop it. It is a huge investment, and it only takes one coup to lose it all. Diamond mining corporations try to keep the locals happy by giving (safe, well-paying) jobs to locals, building schools and hospitals, and keeping diamond-cutting operations within the country instead of sending them to India. The last of these is done in part because most countries impose massive taxes on taking rough diamonds out of the country.
- Only a very small portion of Africa is actually involved in "blood diamond" conflicts. "Blood diamond" refers to the sale of diamonds to finance military operations (sometimes coups, sometimes genocide), which is often motivated by groups vying for control of mines and deposits. The Kimberly process was implemented to require certification - at the mine site - of all diamonds above a certain size. There are many laws, such as that you can not travel with a rough diamond unless you have certification of its source, which make it very difficult to buy and sell blood diamonds. There still is a large black-market trade for these diamonds, but it is minuscule compared to the black market trade in weapons, drugs, and humans. Still, the blood diamond controversy has helped sell Canadian diamonds at much higher prices.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews