The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-09
THE RISE IN DIAMONDS.
PRICES ARE SAID TO HAVE IN
CREASED 20 PER CENT.

CREASED 20 PER CENT.
South African Mines Now Worked to
a Depth of 800 Feet-Kimb erly Dia-
mond Fields owned by Four or Five
Companies.
CCopyrighted1
New York, Sept. 7.-"Have diamonds
gone up? 1 should say So" said
E. Ludeke. the old-time diamond importer
of John street. 1.-THE fact IS" he cont iued,
1.-THE Kimberly mines have been largely
consolidated, SO that most Of the larger
, mines are now operated by four or five
companies. The surface and upper strata
have been worked out so that it is necessary
to go down 800 feet to get 10 stones, which
are buried in the mass of overhanging reef,
the falling Of which Is Of frequent occur
ence. The fields are now CONTROLLED by
coterie Of London and Paris capitalists. and
their eff rts to ad ance pre- have been
promoted by the large demand for these
G )ods, occasioned by the French exposi-
ton, which demand has produced a
scarcity.
''Only very few stones are now found in
t river, most of hem being obtained
from the blue clay. As 1t no longer pays to
work the IN mes Of Brazil or India, where
only the smaller stones are found, they are
neglected, aud the market is almost exclu-
sively suppl from South Africa. 1t may
be co sidered as imp ssible TO work the
Brazilia mines with success. 1t was quite
different in 1913, when they picked up the
stones from the ground; but surface min
ing is now a thing of the past, even in
South Africa, where very cos ,ly machinery
10 -. e., .
only the vast capital embarked in the
mines and the trade, but also wealthy
bankers like the RJtnschil IS and others, are
1nteres ed in the movement TO buoy the
market, in which. likewise, Porges, the
leading Paris dealer in ~ough stones is con-
cerned. 1t is impossible to buy rough
Stones and cut them at present prices. In
AIMS erdam, where several thousand per-
sons are ga ed in this business. the high
price tn are oblige TO pay in London for
rough goods has causet Suppression of
thei indus5 y. | estimate the adva zee in
prices at 20 per cent
Certain parties, said large Broadway
importer, "wh) control the output of Sto res
from South Africa, have combined TO sus-
tain an advance in prices. This t icy can
do in the absence OF any other appreciable
source of supply. The heavy operators
have been working T several years to OBJ
tain control of t1e larger mines, and II wing
at lie 18th dOue SO, have not allowed their
purpose to cool, but have at once begun o
mold back the outpu of rough stones. With
the increase of price, the smaller mine
which are as ye uncontr lied by the syHdi-
CATE cad he worked 10 grea er advan age.
The annual product of the S)lth African
mi es now amOlnt5 to alb lut $50, 10000 in
value. 1t is imp)ssib o to counterfeit the
rising te Ide ICY, as South Africa Is the only
present source of supply. In the twenty
years that have elapsed since the disc very
of the Africa mines, all other sourc IS have
been exhausted, or can be WORKED only at
loss But for the q lscovery of the African
fields, diamonds would now be so scarce as
to command a fabulous price. The comb
nation of Q dozen n more larger mines is
due To several causes. Although 1T is
claimed that the SOut African mines are
practically inexhaustible, there is ap parent
ly desire t. p epare for the day when they
viii be worked out, ami postp ne that
event as 10 lg as possible. The present ad-
vance looks like a mvement TO keep the
m rket sts idy, and put an end to the
former fac atoms in prices. Hitherto,
holders would frequently accumulate rough
stones, only to precipi ate them upon
the market, and cause de-
cline in prices. There has been
steady rise ever since the present move
ment was inaugurated. Tne sudden jump
any dealer would discover by trying to
s-ll his stoIe IN Europe. He would then
see that the diamonds would fetcn very
httle more than they did last spring
Just to what point tue presen, advance
in p ices will go, it is impossible to
say further than tnat the market will
be steady, without jumps or violent fuc-
tuaJ ons.n
The American market is already influ-
enced by the advance in Europe" said an
old importer on joan st eet 1.-The crease
in prices is perfectly natural and what may
be expected. The African mines are being
worked to greater and greater dep b and
consequently at a greater and greater ex-
pense. This fact will cause diamonds 10
grow steadily dearer until some ne y S lurce
Of supply is opened where mines can be
worked at smaller expen litures of money.
There is nothing in the matter to occasion
alarm. The rise may be- estimated at about
20 per cent?
In some quarters the advance is de-
nounced as a combination of capitalists
One merchant compared it to the fish mar.
Get, In whIcn, tn Jug the sea is full of fis D.
tle magnets of the trade coatrol the catch
and SO sustain the prices at figure prolita-
bic to themselves.
GEORGE j. CLARKE.