Why Buyers Shunned the World's Largest Diamond
August 8, 2016 11:55 AM Subscribe
The high-end diamond game is played on a very small field by only a few players. Not many diamantaires have the financial muscle or the nerve to cut big diamonds. If they did not want to “contend in the open arena,” where would they contend? Well, they would contend in the shadows. Even before I had set out to see the diamond—when not a soul outside Lucara had yet seen it—I had heard dealers put it down. (slVanityFair)
A bit cheesy, but this documentary on the "Lesotho Promise" diamond was interesting in terms of what is done to cut larger diamonds down.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 12:21 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by a lungful of dragon at 12:21 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Apparently not everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around.
posted by flabdablet at 1:13 PM on August 8, 2016 [18 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 1:13 PM on August 8, 2016 [18 favorites]
A cleaver line is a terrible thing to face.
posted by clavdivs at 1:33 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 1:33 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Interesting.
Don't have time to read the whole article at the moment, but the quick takeaway seems to be that selling rough diamonds at auction is a deviation from the normal process where gem buyers sit with the producers and negotiate face-to-face. The gem buyers don't like the auction process because they like to line up customers for a stone in advance, and if they try to do that with an auction stone they have to either overbid or risk losing it to someone else.
Lamb is predictably sad-faced about this because obviously he wants people to overbid on his stones.
Ultimately, though, in a world built on chewing up human beings for the enrichment of distant elites, all of the people in this story are partners in an industry particularly notorious for chewing up human beings for the enrichment of distant elites, so surely they'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:10 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
Don't have time to read the whole article at the moment, but the quick takeaway seems to be that selling rough diamonds at auction is a deviation from the normal process where gem buyers sit with the producers and negotiate face-to-face. The gem buyers don't like the auction process because they like to line up customers for a stone in advance, and if they try to do that with an auction stone they have to either overbid or risk losing it to someone else.
Lamb is predictably sad-faced about this because obviously he wants people to overbid on his stones.
Ultimately, though, in a world built on chewing up human beings for the enrichment of distant elites, all of the people in this story are partners in an industry particularly notorious for chewing up human beings for the enrichment of distant elites, so surely they'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:10 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
That's quite a story; thanks for posting it!
> Lamb is predictably sad-faced about this because obviously he wants people to overbid on his stones.
This is meaningless unless you think there's some Platonic "true price" at which a given diamond should be sold. Whatever it winds up selling for is its price; it's only "overbidding" for someone who resents the high price.
posted by languagehat at 3:14 PM on August 8, 2016
> Lamb is predictably sad-faced about this because obviously he wants people to overbid on his stones.
This is meaningless unless you think there's some Platonic "true price" at which a given diamond should be sold. Whatever it winds up selling for is its price; it's only "overbidding" for someone who resents the high price.
posted by languagehat at 3:14 PM on August 8, 2016
Okay but did you know that non-gem quality diamonds are known as bort? Because I would be so much more excited to buy a giant bort. Then I could tell people who come to visit that I own the largest bort. Bort bort bort.
posted by books for weapons at 3:32 PM on August 8, 2016 [19 favorites]
posted by books for weapons at 3:32 PM on August 8, 2016 [19 favorites]
That's a lot of money for a few carbon atoms.
In fairness, it's actually a huge number of carbon atoms.
posted by The Bellman at 3:53 PM on August 8, 2016 [13 favorites]
In fairness, it's actually a huge number of carbon atoms.
posted by The Bellman at 3:53 PM on August 8, 2016 [13 favorites]
Aren't manufactured diamonds rapidly getting better and bigger? I kind of suspect that anyone with the ability to make really big artificial diamonds would keep it quiet for now, but maybe buyers know that diamonds are going to be costume jewellery in a few decades. That wouldn't necessarily hurt the engagement-ring market, but it has to affect the Koh-i-Noor market.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:56 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:56 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
books for weapons: "Okay but did you know that non-gem quality diamonds are known as bort? Because I would be so much more excited to buy a giant bort. Then I could tell people who come to visit that I own the largest bort. Bort bort bort."
"You talking to me?"
"No, my stone is also named Bort"
posted by Pinback at 5:34 PM on August 8, 2016 [6 favorites]
"You talking to me?"
"No, my stone is also named Bort"
posted by Pinback at 5:34 PM on August 8, 2016 [6 favorites]
In fairness, it's actually a huge number of carbon atoms.
I have more carbon atoms in my little finger than- *clicks link, looks at pictures* errrrrr, nevermind.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:40 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have more carbon atoms in my little finger than- *clicks link, looks at pictures* errrrrr, nevermind.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:40 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
surely they'll be first against the wall when the revolution comes
No, they'll be the exclusive suppliers of the kind of stones the howling mob will demand for throwing at those against the wall.
posted by flabdablet at 11:19 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
No, they'll be the exclusive suppliers of the kind of stones the howling mob will demand for throwing at those against the wall.
posted by flabdablet at 11:19 PM on August 8, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ugh. It's a big shiny rock. It has no value except what people will pay.
More than that it's a big shiny rock which come from one of the most exploitative industries on the planet with a looong history of telling people that big shiny rocks are valuable when they are in no way valuable.
Think what you could buy for £63 million. Think how many lives could be made better.
Even research into artificial diamonds is better because they have a use.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:46 AM on August 9, 2016
More than that it's a big shiny rock which come from one of the most exploitative industries on the planet with a looong history of telling people that big shiny rocks are valuable when they are in no way valuable.
Think what you could buy for £63 million. Think how many lives could be made better.
Even research into artificial diamonds is better because they have a use.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 2:46 AM on August 9, 2016
It's the size of a tennis ball, I would totally play tennis with it
posted by tel3path at 4:29 PM on August 9, 2016
posted by tel3path at 4:29 PM on August 9, 2016
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posted by poffin boffin at 12:12 PM on August 8, 2016 [20 favorites]