Birth of the Modern Diamond Industry (Chapter 2, Key Terms & Key Concepts) Flashcards
An agency
designed to purchase, sort, evaluate, and sell rough diamonds.
Central Selling Organisation (CSO)
An independent diamond prospector
Digger
A prospector’s term for diamond
deposits away from water.
Dry diggings
A group of diamond
merchants that united in 1890 to buy and sell rough
diamonds.
London Diamond Syndicate
The path diamonds followed
from the mine to the consumer
Diamond pipeline
Trading event where selected clients buy
rough diamonds.
Sight
A diamond manufacturer or dealer
invited by De Beers to buy rough diamonds.
Sightholder
A direct, centrally
controlled marketing route for rough diamonds.
Single-channel marketing
A rough diamond over 10.80 cts., sold
separately to a sightholder who specializes in
larger stones.
Special
Abundant South African diamond sources appeared in the late
1800s, just as diamond demand broadened.
(Key Concept)
The diamond rush began with the discovery of the Star of
South Africa in 1869.
Key Concept
Early South African diamond fields contained hundreds of
small, individually owned and operated claims.
Key Concept
Cecil Rhodes wanted to stabilize diamond prices, so he
started by trying to control production.
Key Concept
Cecil Rhodes established De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd.
in 1888 to direct mining operations
Key Concept
When it couldn’t own every mine, De Beers began buying
rough from other producers to safeguard diamond prices and
ensure market stability.
Key Concept
Military needs during World War II heightened demand for
industrial diamond rough.
Key Concept
De Beers had full or partial ownership of many mines, and
bought rough from others through purchasing contracts.
Key Concept
Rough is sorted into categories based on size, shape, clarity, and color.
Key Concept
At a sight, the Central Selling Organization (CSO) presents a customized selection of
diamonds to each sightholder for acceptance.
Key Concept
The early twenty-first century brought dynamic changes to the
global diamond market.
Key Concept
The group that united in 1890 to buy and sell all of the output of the major diamond producers, including De Beers, was the
London Diamond Syndicate.
The path diamonds followed from mine to consumer was called the
.
diamond pipeline.
Cecil Rhodes’ main competitor in his early attempts to control diamond production was
Barney Barnato.
Diamond sources started appearing in South Africa during the
1860s
De Beers requires its sightholders to have an excellent reputation in the industry and
the financial strength to make large purchase commitments/retest
The South African diamond rush was sparked by
the discovery of the Star of South Africa.
Before the discovery of South Africa’s diamond deposits, the world’s two major producers were India and
Brazil.
The Central Selling Organisation was a
rough diamond distribution agency.
In the diamond trade, the word “specials” refers to
diamond rough over 10.80 cts.
Who established De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. in 1888?
Cecil Rhodes
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. was named after
the owners of a farm where one of the first diamond rushes took place.
The Diamond Information Center and the Diamond Promotion Service were created to
assist the company in its marketing efforts.
The soft, diamond-bearing material near the surface of a diamond field was named
yellowground
Oppenheimer’s answer to low diamond demand in the 1930s was to
shut down operations at De Beers mines.
Sightholders purchase diamond rough by
attending invitation-only trading events.
