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Smuggling from other African Mines
The smuggling routes lead from the
diamond mines and diggings in Southern and Western Africa to entry spots such as
Monroevia, Brazzaville, Burundi and Beirut. The Belgian and other European
markets are often flooded with smuggled diamonds. The native sorters at the
African mines who are no paid well by De Beers are paid better to smuggle them
out by swallowing or palming them. Some Lebanese gangs like Janil Mohammed's run
this operation in Sierra Leone. The African governments did not have either the
techniques or resources at their disposal to interdict the diamond smugglers.
In Sierra Loene, Spread across the muddy, cratered moonscapes, hundreds
of hunched men still break their backs day after day sifting through wet
gravel with crude shovels and sieves. "Smuggling is still happening
across West Africa and as a consumer you still can't be sure of what
you're getting," says Annie Dunnebacke, a campaigner at the London-based
advocacy group Global Witness.
In 2005, experts estimated that up to 20 percent of the country's
diamond production was being smuggled. Although the weight of diamonds
and precious stones imported into the United States is never given in
the official reports for New York and for the entire country, yet the
gems smuggled into this are worth as country much as those coming
through lawful channels.
De Beers however has taken the matter into its own hands and recruited
their own diamond soldiers to curb smuggling.
Diamonds from New Sources
The Oppenheimers using all colonial connections of the British Empire, succeeded
in weaving all the later discoveries in Africa, the colonial administrators in
Angola, the Congo, Sierra Leone......
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De Beers' Competition
De Beers has left no avenues to control, stop, take over, make friends with or
bulldoze its competitors when necessary. In 1971, it crushed Sammy Collin's
Marine Diamond....
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Who was Real De Beers?
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. is a business organization that has been
controlling the diamond trade world wide for the last century. Many
people tried to compete such Harry Winston for New York and the Argyle
Diamond Company of Australia ...
The Birth of De Beers Company
in Early
1871, a diamond was found on a small hill, a mile away
from the farm house owned by De Beer brothers (whose
names were immortalized in the misspelled form of De
Beer) in the town of Vooruizicht in South Africa and
soon another was found on the farm. A throng of...
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The Oppenheimers Arrive..
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, who came from a prosperous cigar business family
in Germany, moved as a child to South Africa to join his brothers on a
diamond farm in 1902. He started his career as a diamond sorter and grew
rapidly to own and operate the world's most powerful...
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The Long Arm of De Beers
De Beers mainly mines gem quality and industrial
diamonds, markets diamonds produced by itself and also
others, makes and sells synthetic diamond and related
international investments in mining, industrial and
finance companies. In its worldwide operations, it has
assumed many....
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Monopoly Through Financial Strength and Government
Support
De Beers could teach OPEC a thing or two about how to
maintain a cartel. It controls 80% of the world's diamond supply through
only 20% of De Beers gems come from its own mines. It controls the
world's diamond trade through indirect levers. Some nations, such as
Botswana...
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What is Sight Holders?
In its distribution process, De Beers have commanded
absolute authority. 10 times a year, De Beers sells
boxes of rough diamonds to 160 select international
dealers and manufacturers in market rituals as sights in
London, although smaller sights are simultaneously held
in...
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The Name of the Game
For major diamond dealers, the objective is to
increase allocation of diamonds that they receive in their shoebox at each night
(Read - The Rise and Fall of Diamonds, The Shuttering of a
Brilliant Illusion by Edward Jay Epstein). It is , as one dealer put it -
"the Name of the Game"...
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Maintaining the Value of Diamonds
The multi-billion dollar business of diamonds revolves
around the attractive pebble that has a less intrinsic
value per carat. The higher value is an artificial one
and is attributable to the strong hand of De Beers. The
sights in London are not merely occasions for major
gem...
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Creating Artificial Scarcity
It is ironic that during the lifetime of Sir Ernest
Oppenheimer, De Beers never discovered a diamond mine itself. Oppenheimers saw
little point to investing profits in exploring for diamonds...
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A Diamond is Forever
De Beers launched a multi-million dollar "A Diamond is For Ever" advertising
campaign to rekindle the demand. With N.W. Iyer, its U.S. advertising agency, it
had developed aggressive campaign to promote sales of diamond anniversary rings
and jewelry for men... ...
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Read about
Diamond History, Diamond Trade, Buying Tips and more...
The Romans believed that diamonds brought
courage and bravery during battle. Jewish high priests used diamonds to
decide the innocence or guilt of the accused: A stone held before a
guilty person dulled and darkened; a stone held before an innocent
person glowed with increased brilliance. The Hindus believed that this
brilliant gem was created when....
Learn about Diamonds....
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Diamond Smuggling from African Mines
