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SEXY GLAM
MAGAZINE - NOVEMBER 2014
In
the 19th cen-
tury, the collective world-
wide production of diamond only
amounted to a few pounds per year. After the
discovery of the huge South African diamond mines
in 1870, diamonds were being dug
out of the ground literally by
the ton. There was such
a glut of supply and so
little demand that the
British financiers of
the South African
mines were in
danger of los-
ing their invest-
ment.
Their solution
was to create
the powerful De
Beers cartel that
to this day controls
worldwide diamond
production and supply.
Quality diamonds are actually
not scarce at all. But De Beers
controls how much supply comes on
the market and that keeps prices high.