The DeBeers virtual reality drama continues...
My apology for taking six months to produce Part Two. You should now have an understanding that diamonds are basically a "controlled substance".
So here, I feel a fast overview of the distribution architecture of the diamond industry, from the mine to the ultimate consumer is probably next in order.
Accounting just for DeBeers, rough diamonds are mined from its several sources in and about South Africa. The uncut diamonds are cleaned and separated, and sent off to the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), a wholly owned subsidiary of DeBeers located in London. There the diamonds are sorted for quality, size and color. DeBeers "allows" an exclusive, hand-picked list of buyers called sightholders; who are invited to London a few times per year, and given the opportunity to purchase "lots". or "boxes" of gem-grade rough diamonds. The prices are set by DeBeers, and a sightholder may either accept or reject the lot they are offered.
