Comments on: Why On Earth Didn’t a Flawless 72-Carat Diamond Sell?

By: Richard Wicks

Richard Wicks — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:20:33 +0000

Diamonds can be made in the lab and they exist in huge quantities naturally. It’s only because the DeBeers cartel exists that they are still considered to be a semi-precious stone rather than a semi-precious piece of carbon. DeBeers was created in order to restrict supply and to dominate diamond production in order to ensure profits of diamond mines. If it wasn’t for DeBeers, a diamond would have about the same worth as rubies, sapphires and emeralds, which are nothing more than aluminum oxide with impurities to create the colors.

Still, there is no shortage of fools parting with their money. There just wasn’t a big enough fool at the auction.

So anyhow, the picture of the cubic zirconia was apt.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:40:09 +0000

This would have been an interesting piece maybe 10 years ago – but it is hopelessly out of date. Firstly DeBeers controls less than 40% of the diamond market. The EU has ruled that it is no longer able to sell diamonds from Russia’s Alrosa and neither BHP nor Rio Tinto (world’s number 2 and 3 producers) sell through DeBeers.

Next is the stock pile issue. DeBeers adopted a strategy known as ‘buyer of last resort’ to maintain diamond prices. In the long this was always an unsustainable strategy and it was abandoned in the early 2000s and the stockpile sold down. DeBeers are well documented as having confirmed this several years ago.

And lastly an economic lesson. The value of anything is what people are prepared to pay for it.

By: echo

echo — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:27:46 +0000

I’m sure De Beers would be thrilled to know that their current 40% market share has swelled to 80%. I’m also sure that that folk at Partnership Africa Canada and Global witness should be told how badly they screwed up when getting the Kimberly process set up. Don’t forget to tell good people of Botswana Namibia and South Africa would love to know that their prosperity is an illusion.

Don’t give up your day job Ben. I don’t think journalism is your bag. Failing that you could perhaps start with even a skim through wikipedia.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:51:33 +0000

As a matter of fact, I don’t think so– the caption is tounge-in-cheek. The point was to find a picture of a darn big rock, and the shot was just too funny to me to pass up.
If you’re still upset, I’ll have you know I would have been perfectly happy to picture the real diamond, but the AP has it on copyright. I decided to make a joke instead.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:03:13 +0000

OK, but then wasn’t it a bit misleading to show a Cubic Zirconia and not the actual diamond?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:46:04 +0000

Phil I don’t think you realise that the article was talking about a white diamond, the image was irrelevant.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:43:46 +0000

Diamond mines have nothing to do with it!

How stupid are you?

Cubic Zirconia is a man made fake diamond!