Discovery of Diamonds
Most all of the world has had a love affair with diamonds. They are sparkling, mesmerizingly beautiful and considered rare gems. Yet, if you knew the history and the blood that is shed over the 133 million carats of diamonds mined each year, you would probably never buy a diamond again. Diamonds have been considered valuable since they were found. To understand the diamond industry we must first look at when they were discovered and where they are mined. Although, the first diamonds discovered were not mined but found in alluvial deposits along the banks of Orange River in India around 4000 BC. It’s interesting to think that in both India and Africa the first diamonds were found above ground and not through any
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These children will rape, kill, torture anybody on command because they have been abused and brainwashed to believe they are fighting a war for their country’s benefit. Infamous within this history is the Small Boys Unit in Sierra Leone. I read about horrendous accounts of torture and even eating the flesh and organs of their victims. The diamonds of this area of Sierra Leone were coined “blood diamonds” because of this. This is not the only country in Africa to use the money from diamond sales this way. Angola also funded a war with over 3 billion worth of revenue from the diamond industry. Behind all of this corruption in Africa one main diamond producer, the De Beer Family. It was an Englishman, Cecil John Rhodes, that formed De Beers Consolidated Mines in Africa in 1866. He managed to keep prices high by controlling the mining operations of the largest mine in Africa. Even with all his efforts, as more diamond mines were discovered, the prices of diamonds dropped a bit in the early 1900s. In order to counteract this, De Beers, was clever to hire an advertising agency to work up a genius way of addressing the price decline by increasing the demand for quality diamonds. In 1947, De Beers managed to corner the market on the engagement ring and fine jewelry industry by coining the term “A diamond is forever” and then many other successful slogans like “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” now almost 80% of engagement rings are presented with a
Ayer and Son to make sure this love story would capture the hearts and wallets of couples from all over. With a tag line “a diamond is forever,” De Beers' monopoly of the not-so-rare diamond was sealed.
One may think that he or she would want to own a diamond that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but when it comes to the Hope Diamond, one might want to reconsider. One of the best known jewels in the world, throughout history, and even today is the Hope Diamond. It is a beautiful blue gem, but oddly is not famous for its appearance. The diamond is so well-known because of the fascinating story that follows it. The stone currently rests in the Smithsonian and is admired by the millions that visit the museum. People are intrigued by the 45.52 carat diamond and the interesting history behind it. The Hope Diamond, one of the most famous jewels in history, is believed to be cursed and brings bad luck to those who obtain it, including Jean Baptiste Tavernier,
“We covet diamonds in America for a simple reason: the company that stands to profit from diamond sales decided that we should.”
For centuries, diamonds have been regarded as one of the most valuable commodities in the world and the industry has evolved into billions of dollars. At the top, De Beers dominated the entire industry worldwide, from exploration to retail selling. However, it has a reputation of a monopolist, where it influences supply and demand. The two critical factors that De Beers carefully maintained throughout the century to remain in monopoly was to create the illusion of the scarcity of the diamonds and to keep the prices high. Realizing the benefits of the cooperation and the dangers of the oversupply, most
Rothfeld’s work provides unique and strange ways into remedying all forms of heart diseases. He goes into the detail of preventing and treating of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, chest pain, and other problems in the circulatory system. This book is well organized as the various forms of heart diseases are discussed and analyzed separately in each topic. Therefore, this ensures the reader is not confused as they are able to point out which type of heart attack they are facing and what treatment is required. The treatment provided by Rothfeld is more natural and green which has become the modern treatment. He uses simple language thus making it effective for the readers to understand his content.
Although there are no firm estimates of how many diamonds are in circulation, to put these numbers into perspective, one out of 25 diamonds to three out of 20 diamonds will trace back to an illegal source. However many of the diamonds that are mined today are claimed to be conflict free. De Beers, the largest producer of diamonds in the world, states on its website that “more than 99% (99.8%) of the world’s diamonds are certified conflict free” (FAQs). This statement from the De Beers Company shows that there is progress being made however there is still a gap in the industry for which conflict diamonds may sneak through. Although miniscule amounts of blood diamonds are being traded today, they still pose a threat to the world if any rogue nation decides to begin buying blood diamonds thus filling the coffers of the warlords and perpetuating the violence that already plagues countries like Sierra Leone.
Alluvial diamonds were washed down into the coastal area from older, inland terrestrial terraces, by ancient river systems over millions of years. The diamond deposits along the West Coast are estimated to be in excess of 1.5 billion carats, of which 90-95% are gem
The Crater of Diamonds sits on top of Prairie Creek, a volcanic vent. Diamonds can be found here because of an explosion of a release of gas had occurred. When the vent exploded about 100 million years ago, “it created an 83-acre funnel-shaped crater with sides sloping inward at about 45 degrees. Much of the airborne material formed by the initial explosion fell back into the vent. The speed of rise of the mass allowed the diamonds to be preserved in this material (“How are Diamonds Made”)”. John Wesley Huddleston bought land near Murfreesboro and discovered diamonds on his property in August of 1906. People from all over began to pour into Murfreesboro and eventually it boomed and prospered. Huddleston eventually sold the land for about $36,000 to the Arkansas Diamond Company.
"A Diamond is Forever" that is the most popular four words that can be associated with diamonds. As they are forever and so does the diamond stores where you can acquire them. The value of diamonds fluctuate depending on supply and demand. The more rare a diamond is, the more it wil appreciate its value overtime. Diamonds are getting more popular as time passes by. It led to the emerging of diamond stores all over the world.There is no way denying it that diamonds are romantic, glamorous, beautiful. It is a perfect symbol of an eternal love. One more thing is the rapid growth of diamonds in pop culture has played an important role in relationship culture. Decades have passed where music, movies, television and pop culture became an influence
With the fact the Diamonds are made by the rock cycle then it affects where we can find them. We can see this from the fact that certain areas in the world have certain attributes that let diamonds be able to form. Crain found that diamonds may be spat out in the volcanic smoke that is released during an eruption. We can find them with the gravel that came out as well with the volcanic
Approximately 130,000,000 carats (26,000 kg) of diamonds are mined yearly, with a total value of nearly US$9 billion, and about 100,000 kg are synthesized annually.
The story of these infamous diamonds all started with a fifteen year old who found a diamond in his father 's arm. The diamond business started in 1935 when “De Beers” took all control over dining prospects in Sierra Leone. De Beers are a group of companies has a main role in the exploration of diamonds, as well as diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading, and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors.This group was founded in 1888, and they are responsible for the problems Sierra Leone is facing today. These diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes. Diamonds are a pure form of carbon in a transparent state. Diamonds have always been a sign of wealth. Historically kings and queens were known for wearing these. Over time many people began lusting over them.
Diamond mining in South Africa is the main force behind the country’s economy but this has not always been the case. South Africa’s large diamond mining industry started with the discovery of a large diamond on 1886 by a young shepherd named Erasmus Jacobs. The discovery brought in many miners from different parts of the world to South Africa and this lead to the discovery of a bigger diamond in 1871. This created a diamond rush in
Color. Clarity. Cut. Carat Weight: These four words are what jewelers in the industry use to determine the monetary value of a diamond. However in 1947 De Beers found a way to not only boost their sales but also make a psychological necessity out of this sparkly stone, and it all began with four vastly different words, “A Diamond Is Forever” (Frances Garety), and accompanied by phrases such as “Isn’t two months’ salary a small price to pay for something that lasts forever (N.W. Ayers)?
The process of producing the diamonds so they could be sold on the market involved many steps which were illustrated in the movie, Blood Diamond. Smugglers like Archer would supply the RUF with guns. The guns would be used by the RUF to intimidate the people of Sierra Leone into working as laborers for them, we see this with Solomon and his son. These men would be forced to dig in the water mines for hours a day searching for diamonds of all sizes. Then the diamonds are mixed with other diamonds all around the world, mixing the illegal ones with the legal ones; this was explained in the movie by Archer to Maggie. When the diamonds are mixed in with the others, no one can determine for certainty where each originated from. It is then distributed to nations where they are made into necklaces and bracelets, and no questions are asked.