Diamonds (Resources)

A very interesting book and is quite well explained for people whom are not directly linked to the issues of the trade. Unfortunately the problems are described by people whom are presenting bureaucracy practices. Most political systems in Africa are not familiar to the use of laws and bureaucracy as most industrialized countries and this due ethnically, tribe and religion issues.

Captures diamonds issues fairly well

Wow! Diamonds is a fascinating book detailing the history, lure and industry surrounding diamonds. The title maybe a little lackluster for a book all about bling, and yet Smillie has an astounding way with his pen. I found myself engrossed in the subject straight away. And this is one of those subjects that holds but tangential interest for me. Well perhaps a little more than that. But I’m not in the diamond business.They are a curious stone though. As a kid living in Jwaneng I remember visiting the mine and hearing about how much they were worth. The security at the mine boggled me. Many years later going through a divorce I priced the ring I bought and found that the value had greatly depreciated since buying that particular stone. As a rock hound exploring the southwest one always has a little interest in the geology and workings of mines and the industry in general. This book opens the eye to see the whole game.It is mostly a game, but one in which billions of dollars are invested and traded. Smillie documents the history of that game right up to today. He starts out in India where they were first mined and cut and polished. He explains how and why Debeers came into business and operates in the manner it does throughout the world, desperately holding on to a monopoly in order to even stay in business, trying to keep the price of diamonds fixed where they can earn a profit. But then it also shows how this inflated price has worked to make diamonds a black market currency, whose ultimate value is ephemeral. Somehow the diamond has become and continues to be an international symbol for love, and good luck getting married without buying one at heavily marked up prices in a jewelry store. You won’t get near that much money back for it. Perhaps about ten percent of what you paid for it.Smillie then documents the work that he and others put into trying to undercut the use of diamonds as black market currency at the turn of the century. This is all very interesting. Though it seems a little naïve. The work I suppose helped in that it pacified the consciences of an equally naïve public, that really just wants to be able to spend large amounts of money to express love for girlfriends, wives and mistresses, without believing that someone probably lost their life, and perhaps many did for their endeavors at romance whether successful or not. Or that in buying this diamond, they are helping to fund the raping and pillaging of villages in the Congo, Angola or Sierra Leone, or even in South America. Or funding Islamic terrorists fighting in Afghanistan for that matter. But this is the truth of it, and will be as long as people are willing to spend thousands of dollars on them, for the chance that in doing so their love might be reciprocated. But as other reviewers have noted, if it isn’t diamonds, then there will be something else used to fund the bloodshed. Hate to be that cynical, but it really isn’t as if people will stop killing each other if diamonds become worthless. The book documents many holes in the Kimberly Process that continue to allow diamonds to be used as black market currency. And if you plug those, others will be found.On the other hand, if you like a book that deals with the mechanics of intrigue, smuggling, arms dealing etc. Then you will find this book to be well worth a read.

This book might better be titled, "A Report of the State of the Diamond Mining Industry." While the tone was conversational, it mainly focused on the problems in diamond mining controls. The author talked about the different countries involved in diamond mining, polishing, and sells and the history of how the current system developed. He described the two types of diamond mines and why one type is so hard to control. He gave examples of how these anyone-can-mine diamonds often create situations where the workers (many of whom are mining illegally) are abused and how these unregulated diamonds can be used to fund military conflicts ("blood/conflict diamonds").He explained in detail how a group was set up to regulate diamonds to prevent conflict diamonds from being sold and told stories of how this group rarely enforced the process they came up with. He ended by explaining how a group he is now involved with is trying to fix some of the human abuses in the system. For example, they created a process were illegal miners can be registered. They also want to create a certification process like the "FairTrade" system to ensure confidence in the background of gem diamonds.Even with the author's efforts, it seems to me that there is so much abuse in the system, I will never buy or wear a natural diamond gem. Since the selling potential of gem diamonds is based upon advertising that has convinced people diamonds are desirable, I don't quite understand why he's trying to save the "romantic" advertising image of diamonds. He knows all of the likely problems that will prevent real change because he's been involved in the attempts to make changes. Perhaps his report was too effective in convincing me. :)

Ian Smillie's "Diamonds" is clear and straightforward. There's not a lot of fat to this book on diamonds from its history to its current standing and how it is used for more than just being worn by as jewelry. Smillie covers as much as possible without overwhelming the reader.Some chapters are short but others a little longer given the complexity. For example, the chapter on Geology and History is 10 pages whereas the chapter that follows (Supply and Demand) is almost 30 pages. The longest chapter is, unsurprisingly, the chapter on Power and Politics. But no chapter is so long that it is unwieldy. It is actually pretty easy to read overall. The most interesting chapter to me was the one on regulation because while it is a short chapter, it gets across that it isn't an easy process. Like any other bureaucracy, it starts with best of intentions and then gets bogged down.It is tough to say "I liked it" because while the text is dry, the reader knows that this is a natural resource that is highly coveted and a business that is complex and conflicted. That said, I appreciated Smillie's dry, straightforward approach. It isn't a definitive book on the topic but it provides a good overview on the subject.

As a former investigator to the UN Security Council and having been involved in setting up the Kimberley Process, Ian Smillie is well qualified to write this excellent summary of the diamond industry – from its murky roots to its murkier current form and the failure of attempts to regulate it. The book deals with the geology and history of diamonds, how the diamond industry works, blood diamonds, activism, regulation, power and politics, development and a sweep up conclusion chapter. The strongest chapters are those on blood diamonds, activism and regulation with Smillie using his insider knowledge to give insights onto how the Kimberley Process came into being and why the regulation is failing (including a coherent explanation of how blood diamonds are traded and why it’s so difficult to control them). I admired the fact that he acknowledges the failure of the Kimberley Process despite his involvement with it and his even-handed analysis is a major strength of the book. There’s a comprehensive index and notes, but I was slightly disappointed in the Further Reading section, which I’d hoped would have been more extensive (although I liked Smillie’s notes on each suggested book). As a short book it cannot give an in-depth look at the whole industry but is nonetheless an excellent starting point and gives the reader a good platform to do further research if they’re interested. All in all, it’s a must-read primer for anyone with an interest on the topic.Smillie is completely open about why it’s so difficult to regulate the diamond industry. He explains how the geology of alluvial diamonds makes it impossible to secure sites while the widespread existence of artisan miners makes it impossible to control who is looking to sell. Notwithstanding this, it’s depressing at how little the industry and international governments are at tackling the issue and Smillie is particularly damning in showing how the Kimberley Process has failed to get to grips with those countries that flout what little regulation that exists. What does come through is the importance of NGOs in driving forward attempts to regulate the sector, particularly Partnership Africa Canada whose detailed investigations are thorough and damning (and it’s telling that the governments investigated choose to attack the messenger rather than respond to the charges). Ultimately, this is a great starting point for anyone interested in the industry and on that basis, I’d thoroughly recommend it.

This book is worth a read even if you don't care much for diamonds. I got it because I like the 'polity resources' range of books, the in depth investigations into important issues.This book touches many serious sides of commodities: the developed countries - third world, poor (often migrant) labour - big international companies, smuggling, corruption, child labour, environmental damage, atrocious work conditions, war… all of it can be found in the diamond trade.The author knows the world of diamonds very well, he was a UN Security Council investigator and a leading figure in the blood diamond campaign. In 1967 he went to teach at a secondary school in Koidu in Sierra Leone and saw the chaotic world of artisanal diamond digging first hand.In this book he describes the whole diamond trade, from the geology, the mining and digging diamonds out of the dirt, to the distribution and use of the things. His writing style is very pleasant and makes the book easy to read, a bonus for such a documentary style book.I learned a lot from this book about commodities in general and the problems that arise from a system where most resource rich countries are struggling with big problems of a social and political nature and don't seem to benefit economically from their riches, which get shipped to the developed countries where value is added and the markets are, generally.

This is a detailed book that covers the history of diamonds and the industry that surrounds it. The author looks at the troubling fact that regulation in its current form does not work. Other considerations that are looked at are such considerations as the geopolitical sway that covers diamonds. The narrative is good straightforward read. The reader is not inundated with technical terms, and yet you are given the salient knowledge on the frame work of the diamond industry.The topic of `conflict diamonds' comes to the fore. The reader is given a good breakdown of the reality of the subject. You also hear about how people avoid taxation through the use of diamonds as way of storing cash, and the way in which money laundering also use diamonds to move cash quickly easily across the world. For me this was a real eye opener - a real primer, if you will, on the world of power politics that surrounds the industry of diamonds.Highly recommended

These Polity Resources Series books are an excellent resource. Each one seems to be just the right balance of academic research and accessibility. Each deals with a natural resource that is controversial in some way, and takes an overview of the issues surrounding that resource, with a focus on social justice.The result is invariably excellent, and Diamonds is no exception. Smillie is perhaps more of a campaigner on this issue than most authors in the series. Nevertheless he provides an excellent and balanced overview of the issues, from the mystique of diamond through to the controversies surrounding blood diamonds and the efforts to regulate the trade.Strongly recommended, as is the rest of the series, whether as an academic book or for the interested casual reader.

Diamonds have become a major commodity for money launderers. And we've all heard of blood diamonds and the associated nefarious practices in acquiring them from deep in the bowels of the African continent. How can something so perfect, so dazzling, so beautiful - and, well, so small, become so associated with evil deeds?This work assesses the importance of the diamond in a modern world that prizes them for their use in heavy-duty industrial tools, while women crave them for their beauty, and the status conferred on their ownership. But what of their investment potential and the human cost of the mining and distribution processes? The author considers all aspects of these issues in this entertaining work from a splendid publisher of quality non-fiction.Recommended.