Title: Brilliance and fire : a biography of diamonds /
Authors: Bergstein, Rachelle,
Year: 2016
Subjects: Diamonds Social aspects.; Diamonds History.; Diamond industry and trade History.
Abstract: "Sheds new light on the enticing, often surprising, story of our society's enduring obsession with the hardest gemstone, offering a fascinating history of its origins and revealing its greatest champions and most colorful enthusiasts. 25,000 first printing,"--NoveList.
Contents: The buyers : how the American rich came to love diamonds -- The seekers : how one sickly Englishman took over the diamond industry -- The lovers : how young women came to expect diamond rings (part I) -- The show-offs : how a single stone bewitched its owners, and captivated America -- The optimists : how the industry survived two world wars and the Great Depression -- The sellers : how young women came to expect diamond rings (part II) -- The queens : how Wallis Simpson earned her diamonds -- The stars : how an advertising agency got diamonds ready for their close-up -- The winners : how Elizabeth Taylor learned to speak Italian -- The meddlers : how little stones got big -- The inventors : how to make a diamond (and provoke De Beers) -- The illusionists : how the magicians protected their tricks -- The masters : how the Australians democratized diamonds -- The stunners : how tough guys started wearing diamonds -- The critics : how a global crisis changed the meaning of "forever" -- The innovators : how to sell diamonds in a (more) enlightened world.