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Top 10 Diamond Scandals throughout History

Every major industry has its scandals that range from the most innocent to some that are so horrifying that they may threaten to bring down the entire industry.  The diamond industry is no exception.  Ever since the beginning of the diamond trade in the 1800s, diamonds have been a source of scandal and all types of unethical behavior.  Below are the top 10 diamond scandals in the history of diamond minding and the diamond industry.

1)      Blood Diamonds.  The blood diamond has by far been the biggest scandal to date, especially because they affect a huge percentage of people, particularly those living in Sub-Saharan Africa.  In short, the blood diamond is a diamond that is sold to fund sectarian warfare or some kind of human-rights violation against the civilian population of a given country.  The most notorious for this were the countries of Angola, Sierra Leone, The Ivory Coast, Congo and most recently, Zimbabwe.  The outcome of this scandal that keeps reappearing was the formation of the Kimberly Certification Process, which aims to keep blood diamonds off the market.

2)      DeBeers Monopoly.  DeBeers is one of the oldest and most powerful diamond mining corporations on the planet.  Because of this, they have always had significant influence and power when it comes to diamond prices.  However, no one expected that DeBeers would be involved in a serious monopoly that was so extensive that it was practically vertically integrated.  DeBeers actually managed to keep this under wraps and out of sight until the year 2000, when Nicky Oppenheimer, one of DeBeers chief executives, openly admitted to it.  Since then, DeBeers has ended its monopoly and now has cleaned up its act so that no trace of a monopoly exists any longer

3)      Expulsion of natives from lands for diamonds.  This scandal is one of the most heart-wrenching.   In short, when the Brazilian government as well as other governments in Africa such as Botswana discovered diamond mines, the natives living in those lands were expelled from their lands and sent to live elsewhere, generally in subhuman conditions. 

4)      Marie Antoinette and a diamond necklace.  It turns out that one of the most important events in history, the French Revolution, was brought about partially by Marie Antoinette and a diamond necklace.  Apparently, Marie Antoinette managed to have a super-expensive diamond necklace purchased for her, but never reimbursed the buyers.  The real story eventually came out and raised the ire of the already angry French populace, which eventually gave way to the French Revolution and the end of the French Monarchy.

5)      GIA and Diamond Pricing.  In 2005, the GIA was found to have been issuing false value reports for diamonds in exchange for bribes.  It only became public after the Saudi Royal family was affected and they publicized this information.  This obviously made the diamond industry look dishonest.  Consequently, the GIA fired all of those involved and has raised its hiring standards to prevent a repeat of this scandal.

6)      The Blue Diamond Affair.  The blue diamond affair was basically about a Thai worker who stole a blue diamond – one of the rarest types of diamond found on earth – from the Saudi Royal family, which lead to the murder several Thais and Saudis as well as a massive diplomatic snafu.   It took place in the 1980s and 1990s and did not end until 2008.

About the Author

Fred Pollard has a long experience in the diamond industry and he is an expert in Diamond Prices. Find out everything you need about diamond jewelry and compare diamond prices through additional articles written by him.

Thai Workers Call Decision To Dismiss Case An ‘Injustice’

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