Download or read book Blood Sweat and Earth written by Tijl Vanneste and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2021-12-21 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sweeping history of our enduring passion for diamonds—and the exploitative industry that fuels it. Blood, Sweat and Earth is a hard-hitting historical exposé of the diamond industry, focusing on the exploitation of workers and the environment, the monopolization of uncut diamonds, and how little this has changed over time. It describes the use of forced labor and political oppression by Indian sultans, Portuguese colonizers in Brazil, and Western industrialists in many parts of Africa—as well as the hoarding of diamonds to maintain high prices, from the English East India Company to De Beers. While recent discoveries of diamond deposits in Siberia, Canada, and Australia have brought an end to monopolization, the book shows that advances in the production of synthetic diamonds have not yet been able to eradicate the exploitation caused by the world’s unquenchable thirst for sparkle.
Download or read book Refracted Economies written by Rebecca Jane Hall and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2022 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Refracted Economies examines the gendered impact of the diamond industry in the Canadian Northwest Territories.
Download or read book Flight of the Diamond Smugglers written by Matthew Gavin Frank and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2021-07-01 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Ghost towns, corporate cruelty, the centuries-old relationship between humans and a species almost magical in its abilities ... fabulous.' The New York Times 'A beautifully written book on diamond smuggling, the universe, life and much of what lies in between.' Toby Muse, author of Kilo: Life and Death Inside the Secret World of the Cocaine Cartels For nearly 80 years, a huge portion of coastal South Africa was closed off to the public. With many of its pits now deemed "overmined" and abandoned, journalist and author Matthew Gavin Frank set out across the infamous Diamond Coast to investigate an illicit trade – the smuggling of diamonds by carrier pigeon – that supplies a global market. Uncovering a long overlooked truecrime story dating back to the founding of the De Beers corporation, and blending elements of reportage, memoir and legend, he weaves interviews with local diamond divers, who extract mineral wealth from the seabed by day and raise pigeons in secret by night, with harrowing anecdotes from former heads of security, environmental managers, and vigilante pigeon hunters. A rare and remarkable portrait of exploitation and greed, Flight of the Diamond Smugglers reveals how these feathered bandits became outlaws in every mining town. 'Unforgettable. ... An outstanding adventure in its lyrical, utterly compelling, and heartbreaking investigations of the world of diamond smuggling.' Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of Oceanic and World of Wonders 'A lyrical portrait of a resilient species caught in the grinding gears of a cruel industry of extraction and exploitation.' Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief
Download or read book Diamonds written by Jack Ogden and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lavishly illustrated, in-depth early history covering two thousand years of diamond jewelry and commerce, from the Indian mines to European merchants, courts, and workshops This richly illustrated history of diamonds illuminates myriad facets of the “king of gems,” including a cast of larger-than-life characters such as Alexander the Great, the Mughal emperor Jahangir, and East India Company adventurers. It’s an in-depth study tracing the story of diamonds from their early mining and trade more than two thousand years ago to the 1700s, when Brazil displaced India as the world’s primary diamond supplier. Jack Ogden, a historian and gemologist specializing in ancient gems and jewelry, describes the early history of diamond jewelry, the development of diamond cutting, and how diamonds were assessed and valued. The book includes more than one hundred captivating images, from close-up full-color photographs of historic diamond-set jewelry (some previously unpublished), to photomicrographs of individual gems and illustrations of medieval manuscripts, as well as diagrams depicting historical methods of cutting and polishing diamonds.
Download or read book Barren Lands written by Kevin Krajick and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 2001, Barren Lands is the classic true story of the men who sought—and found—a great diamond mine on the last frontier of the far north. From a bloody 18th-century trek across the Canadian tundra to the daunting natural forces facing protagonists Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson as they struggle against the mighty DeBeers cartel, this is the definitive account of one of the world’s great mineral discoveries. Combining geology, science history, raw nature, and high intrigue, it is also a tale of supreme adventure, taking the reader into a magical—and now fast-vanishing—wild landscape. Now in a newly revised and updated edition.
Download or read book Diamonds written by Renee Newman and published by Firefly Books. This book was released on 2021-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beauty and sparkle and mystique of diamonds is unmatched by that of any other gem in the world. Since early times, diamonds have been treasured as good luck charms, remarkable tools and status symbols and have been worn, collected and presented as lavish gifts. Today, diamonds remain among the most sought-after gemstones and continue to hold their value through good times and bad. In Diamonds, author Renée Newman, a graduate gemologist and author of many trade-level handbooks on gemstones, invites the reader on a journey into the fascinating world of diamonds. This lavishly illustrated guide -- which features hundreds of photos, maps and diagrams -- covers everything from mining, cutting and evaluating diamonds to the romantic histories of some of the world's most valuable stones. Diamonds includes chapters on: What a diamond is -- its significance from antiquity to the present day and what it represents from different perspectives The process and history of mining diamonds -- the locations (both modern and historical) as well as the techniques used to mine diamonds The evolution of diamond cutting -- how a diamond is processed and what are the key cuts and shapes to know Diamond jewelry through the ages -- how diamonds have been used in jewelry from pre-Georgian times to today Evaluating and pricing diamonds -- how diamonds are priced based on their many value factors, such as color, carat weight, cut, clarity, and so on Man-made diamonds The remarkable benefits of diamonds. As beautiful as they are precious and as useful as they are decorative, diamonds continue to fascinate and allure. Diamonds will be a welcome guide for anyone who has felt the romance and power of these fascinating gems. It will also be a useful resource for professionals in the jewelry trade.
Download or read book The Heartless Stone written by Tom Zoellner and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-06-12 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An American Library Association Notable Book When he proposed to his girlfriend, Tom Zoellner gave what is expected of every American man--a diamond engagement ring. But when the relationship broke apart, he was left with a used diamond that began to haunt him. His obsession carried him around the globe; from the "blood diamond" rings of Africa; to the sweltering polishing factories of India; to mines above the Arctic Circle; to illegal diggings in Brazil; to the London headquarters of De Beers, the secretive global colossus that has dominated the industry for more than a century and permanently carved the phrase "A diamond is forever" on the psyche. An adventure story in the tradition of Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, The Heartless Stone is a voyage into the cold heart of the world's most unyielding gem.
Download or read book The Diamond Mines of South Africa written by Gardner F. Williams and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 776 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1902, this work describes the discovery and development of diamond mines in South Africa.
Download or read book Blood Diamonds written by Greg Campbell and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2012-04-03 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First discovered in 1930, the diamonds of Sierra Leone have funded one of the most savage rebel campaigns in modern history. These "blood diamonds" are smuggled out of West Africa and sold to legitimate diamond merchants in London, Antwerp, and New York, often with the complicity of the international diamond industry. Eventually, these very diamonds find their way into the rings and necklaces of brides and spouses the world over. Blood Diamonds is the gripping tale of how the diamond smuggling works, how the rebel war has effectively destroyed Sierra Leone and its people, and how the policies of the diamond industry - institutionalized in the 1880s by the De Beers cartel - have allowed it to happen. Award-winning journalist Greg Campbell traces the deadly trail of these diamonds, many of which are brought to the world market by fanatical enemies. These repercussions of diamond smuggling are felt far beyond the borders of the poor and war-ridden country of Sierra Leone, and the consequences of overlooking this African tragedy are both shockingly deadly and unquestionably global. Updated with a new epilogue.
Download or read book Empire of Diamonds written by Adrienne Munich and published by University of Virginia Press. This book was released on 2020-05-19 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1850, the legendary Koh-i-noor diamond, gem of Eastern potentates, was transferred from the Punjab in India and, in an elaborate ceremony, placed into Queen Victoria’s outstretched hands. This act inaugurated what author Adrienne Munich recognizes in her engaging new book as the empire of diamonds. Diamonds were a symbol of political power—only for the very rich and influential. But, in a development that also reflected the British Empire’s prosperity, the idea of owning a diamond came to be marketed to the middle class. In all kinds of writings, diamonds began to take on an affordable romance. Considering many of the era’s most iconic voices—from Dickens and Tennyson to Kipling and Stevenson—as well as grand entertainments such as The Moonstone, King Solomon’s Mines, and the tales of Sherlock Holmes, Munich explores diamonds as fetishes that seem to contain a living spirit exerting powerful effects, and shows how they scintillated the literary and cultural imagination. Based on close textual attention and rare archival material, and drawing on ideas from material culture, fashion theory, economic criticism, and fetishism, Empire of Diamonds interprets the various meanings of diamonds, revealing a trajectory including Indian celebrity-named diamonds reserved for Asian princes, such as the Great Mogul and the Hope Diamond, their adoption by British royal and aristocratic families, and their discovery in South Africa, the mining of which devastated the area even as it opened the gem up to the middle classes. The story Munich tells eventually finds its way to America, as power and influence cross the Atlantic, bringing diamonds to a wide consumer culture.
Download or read book The Diamonds Coal and Gold of India written by Valentine Ball and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Capital and Labour on the Kimberley Diamond Fields 1871 1890 written by Robert Vicat Turrell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1987-09-17 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on new documentary sources, this history of diamond mining in Kimberley is a major study of South Africa's mineral revolution and the formation of De Beers Consolidated Mines, one of the most successful African mining companies.
Download or read book The Diamond Seeker written by John Gawaine and published by Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa. This book was released on 1976 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the life of John Thoburn Williamson.
Download or read book Argyle written by Stuart Kells and published by Melbourne Univ. Publishing. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The remote Kimberley region of Western Australia has a rich history and unique geography. In the 1960s De Beers, the world’s largest diamond company, sent gem-hunters to the area but they came away empty-handed. It was a vast region to survey, and they’d overlooked something vital. A few years later, a team of Australian geologists with a tiny budget searched for even tinier mineral clues. Those clues led them to the earth’s largest diamond deposit and the world’s richest source of rare pink diamonds. Based on in-depth research and interviews — including with Alan King Jones, Bill Leslie and ‘the father of Australian diamonds’, Ewen Tyler — Argyle: The Impossible Story of Australian Diamonds details the almost overwhelming challenges with realising a diamond mining venture in Australia, shows how these obstacles were overcome, and explores the mine’s impact and legacy.
Download or read book The Hidden Cost of Jewelry written by Jo Becker and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I. Introduction -- II. Existing standards - and why they are not enough -- III. How jewelry companies can source responsibly -- IV. Company rankings and performance -- V. A call to action: next steps fro the jewelry industry -- Acknowledgments -- Annex.
Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Diamonds written by Edward Jay Epstein and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 1982 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book South Africa s City of Diamonds written by William H. Worger and published by New Haven : Yale University Press. This book was released on 1987 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
