But do not underestimate the diamond kings of Kimberley. They have withstood turbulence before, not least in South Africa this century, from the Boer war to anti-apartheid sanctions. Each time their downfall has been predicted, the masters of control have emerged as strong as ever. Few competitors have picked a fight with the mighty De Beers and won. The company has even managed to slip out of reach of the American trust-busters.
Cartels are illegal in America.
But, thanks partly to a cleverly disguised international maze of company registrations, and to diamond dealers' frightened reluctance to testify, the Americans have never successfully pursued a serious antitrust case against De Beers. Surely not the jeweller's, the cutter's, the dealer's, or the miner's. Thus do the sorcerers of Charterhouse Street concoct glamour from carbon, and fool us all.