Rating: 
Summary: A tale of carats, cartels, and "Conflict Diamonds"
Review: There are various different levels of appeal with this book. Persons interested in the hard surface of the science in this business will enjoy reading about mineralogy, how to select excavation sites, and what constitutes a good "kimberlite pipe" which is the cone-shaped geological feature comprised of diamond bearing strata. Those that find the sparkle of a financial story appealing will be captivated from the first chapter, when Hart describes the bonanza that came the way of three small-time Brazilian miners. They uncovered a 81-carat pink diamond and ended up netting a glittering sum of 2 million. There are stories that have a bit of a rough edge to them and also required a bit of digging into the past. History buffs will approve. Here Hart is talking about the secretive and somewhat clouded history of the DeBeers cartel and it's current attempts to maintain control of 80% of the world's rough diamonds. What other term but "chipping away" could best describe the chapter on Eira Thomas, a young female geologist who discovered a huge cluster of high-grade diamond pipes in the Canadian Actic. This discovery more than anything else has begun to loosen DeBeer's grip on the industry. And finally for those who wish to get down in the trenches there are the descriptions of the "diamond conflicts". This is the warfare in Angola and Sierra Leone that is finaced by diamond revenues. Here we see the dirty and bloody side of the story.Characters abound. The founders of DeBeers - Cecil Rhodes, Barney Barnato and Ernest Oppenheimer, the "garimpeiros" or miners of Brazil and Eira Thomas. The journey is around the world, from South Africa, Angola, and Sierra Leone, to Siberia, London, and the Canadian arctic. DIAMOND: A JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF AN OBSESSION is an appropriate title for the contents of this well written and very informative book.
Rating:
Summary: Something shiny in the rough...
Review: There is a type of stone which, when polished, refracts more light than other stones. All the world wonders about it. This is an interesting overview of diamond history and business. It details the history of humankind's fascination with one of the rarest of gems-the carbon tetrahedron. From the jungles of South America, to Canada's arctic north, to the Siberian tundra, to South and Central Africa, to the west coast of Africa, the Australian outback and elsewhere humans have searched for the mother lode-the diamond kimberlite/lamproite pipe-one of the rarest of geological formations, but also one of the richest of treasures-many billions of dollars worth in the richest pipes. And of course, where there is money, there is every breed of deceit, vulgarity and excess. In Africa, (and elsewhere), many have died from civil wars or have been murdered from the lust which seems to spring from this crystal refraction. The major players are outlined-eg DeBeers, BHP, and a long list of wily rogues and speculators who make and break their fortune on the flippancy of billion year old crustal pressure distribution. The process of diamond formation is described- from the formation of kimberlitic/lamproitic magma deep within the earth, to their eruptive surface craters, which are, incidentally, quite rare in geological time. Diamond indicators -purple 'G10' garnets, and green diopsides-indicate to geologists where diamonds may be found. Kids played with shiny bright stones, and diamonds could be picked out of the walls of brick farmhouses in 19th century South Africa, before the fantastically rich Kimberly and Premier pipes were found. Mine managers laughed when thousand-carat gems landed on their table, and threw them out the window in disbelief. Millions had also been washed down to the African Atlantic coast, where they are trawled today for considerable profit, the sea washing away the weaker gems and producing a high proportion of better gems. From the diamond mines of South Africa rose Cecil Rhodes, the 3,106 carat Cullinen gem, Ernest Oppenhemier, and De Beers, along with substantial wealth, slavery and a good deal of imperialist oppression. (J. Reader contends in "Africa-biography of a continent", that the strongly segregated capital-labour relations of the gold and gem mines of South Africa formed a precursor to Apartheid). Grade, shape, size and impurities within diamonds determine their prices, but it is not clear whether the finders always benefit, the money passes up the chain from the worker's mud and slime to the corporate mud and slime, and finally into what most people see-sparkles in shiny glass shop-cases. Some of the stories related to diamond stealing are worth a mention. In Namibia they would tie diamonds to pigeon feet and accomplaces would retrieve them from bird nests, high in the trees outside a diamond camp. Diamond-laden arrows would be shot over fences, until the time one hit a security truck patrolling the camp. Bodily orifices act like built-in security codes, unless you have the inclination for that kind of investigation. Re-sorted batches would be dispatched slightly lighter than the initial dispatch, since re-sorting is apparently not the same thing as initial sorting, at least not to some accountants, and to some dispatching managers (Australia). Decimal points and the significance of significant figures was lost in some London sorting houses, where mathematical finesse slumbered. Russian entrepenurial dealers enjoyed a game of re-distributing Russian diamond wealth after the breakup of Russian political wealth. Civil wars in recent years have been fought in Africa over shiny stones- where they are, who owns them, who finds them, who sells them and and who owns those who sell them. Coroporate business is fought elsewhere over the same pieces of stone. It's not all exploitation and corruption of course. Legitimate finds have made people and nations wealthy, particularly in Botswana, Australia and elsewhere. Lustrous gems have long been a symbol for commitment, love, and financial, personal and emotional investment, and have facilitated 'tying the knot', (rightly or wrongly) for millions, since time immemorial. In the book a quote is given that the entire diamond business rests on two supports-vanity and greed, in which the human race could be relied upon for a steady supply of both. This is not entirely true. There is also love, in which a steady supply, is also assured. And so the show goes on, but not without purpose or merit. She (or he) might love one more if only one could show her (or him) that refractory sparkle. A piece of glass might also do a similar thing, which too many, to their dismay, have paid good money for.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific Story of Power and Greed!
Review: This book is an excellent historical and geological overview of the mystique surrounding diamonds and the lengths people will go to obtain them. The author takes you from the deserts of Africa to the jungles of South America in a page-turning whirlwind that's hard to put down. The book is both entertaining and educational, containing several interesting photographs, maps and charts.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Story of Power and Greed!
Review: This book is an excellent historical and geological overview of the mystique surrounding diamonds and the lengths people will go to obtain them. The author takes you from the deserts of Africa to the jungles of South America in a page-turning whirlwind that's hard to put down. The book is both entertaining and educational, containing several interesting photographs, maps and charts.
Rating:
Summary: Cold-Blooded Ice
Review: This book is fascinating and beautifully written, a great example of the new style of investigative journalism in which the observer leaves his own peculiar tracks, thereby dumping the supposed "objectivity" journalists have wished they have. Its strong narrative voice took me on a "can't put it down" ride around the world. The author's insights into (in particular) the world of exploration geology is spot-on.
Rating:
Summary: well written and researched book on all things diamond
Review: 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 specializing 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.
Rating:
Summary: Story of a cold blooded love affair
Review: This is a good general account of the modern day diamond business, with the right mix of technical detail and story telling. The reader learns about how diamonds are formed, found and exploited, as well as the romance and large personalities behind the trade. As with most accounts of the gem-trade, the story inevitably revolves around the Goliath of the industry - the de Beers cartel, but Hart goes a long way to explaining how they rose to eminence and how they manage to exert so much control, even if this control is now waning. He also includes interesting details on the differing stages of diamond sales, from the selling of 'rough' to the marketing of the finished article that most of us associate with diamonds. Hart is to be commended for including a section on conflict diamonds, and how the trade in these is effecting the lives of thousands for the worse. He is cynical about how much the industry will do to stop the trade of these tainted gems, but the reader gets the feeling that his cynicism is not misplaced - much of his story is taken up with the greed and backstabbing involved in the search for and trading of this precious commodity. This definitely is a cold blooded love affair. But Hart manages to tell it as it is, leaving the reader to decide if diamonds really are worth the trouble and money that they currently command. There are few complaints about this book, only minor quibbles. One is very partisan - I would have liked to have read more about the Argyle diamonds of Australia, and how they have been attempting to make brown diamonds (champagne and cognacs to be more romantic) fashionable. I also would have expected more on the trading houses of Antwerp and Tel Aviv, but Hart was obviously more concerned with the swashbuckling nature of exploration. But as stated, these are minor quibbles - this is still a fascinating read.
Rating:
Summary: If you want a great book!
Review: This is a great book. It's only with a modicum of rational intelligence, that I didn't sell all my belongings, and take off for the Arctic circle. Honestly, this book made me want to do it! It covers everything from the miners, to war diamonds, to the reason, "a Diamond is forever." Like I said, if you want a great book ... read this!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: This is an excellent read on the diamond history. I first saw the book in the Wall Street Journal and decided to purchase it. I was glad that I did.
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