The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-20
HOW De BEERS's OPERATORS
CONTROL DIAMOND TRADE

of Hatton Garden do not disguise the fact
that the failures in Antwerp and LOndor
represent a crisis In the trade. but they
take refuge in the hope that the end Of It i,
in sight.
The trouble was Inevitable" explain,
one of the leading merchants of Hatton
Garden. After two lean years the Antwerp
speculators counted upon a big C~orohatio;
boom. They bought a lot of stones IN tts
rough. and now that they are cut find they
cannot sell them. Being men OF limited
capital. they have gone to smash. But that
does not affect the trade generally
A diamond merchants office is as little
as possible like the shilling shocker con-
ception of 1t. The Marquis OF Anglesey
! made more show with his paste ornaments
on his pantomime tunic than all HaI'oh
| Garden and Ely place combined
a safe stands in the corner OF the room
| and there is Il pair of delicate scales on
the writing table. For the rest. the room
might belong to an insurance agent or an
accountant in a small way of business
There are no outer and inner guards, no
man-;raps. none Of the sensational appara-
tus OF the transporting drama.
Tbief-ResistinE Safe.
The safe is especially constructed to resist
thieves and fire and a fall from a hfth
story. Except for that the precautions
are no more obvious than they WOULD Dc II
a grocer's back parlor. Yet the saie al
WAYS contains enough to make a rich mans
mouth water. When a dealer or repuls
locks I'D his office and goes home to dinner
ne seldom leaves less than sioo,CO worth
of precious stones behind him.
A few DAYS ago there repOsed In one or
the Hatton Garden safes two peal necklaces
worth $4,000 between them. OccasiohaiiS
when a merchant has been round inc
Garden collecting jewels for the approsa.
Of some rich customer. he may lock up hait
n millions worth of stuff in his safe. Ana
even the expert declines to give an estlHa'e
of the total value of all the precious stones
in Hatton Garden and Ely place on any
given night.
The modesty Of the display is az aston
ishiny as the value of the stock. ana more
astonishing than either IS the absolute con-
fidence reposed in each other By men IN the
trade. \ merchant neither gives nor taxes
a receipt for his parcels and a parcei OK
diamonds may be worth anything up 10
$500. Between nine and ten in tie morning
n merchants office is crowded with travel.
ers and brokers.
81 want ~such-and-such a grain says the
traveller. Here you are" replies the mer-
chant, handing him a tiny paper parcel on
which Is inscribed the weight ana the
price per carat. He looks at the stones.
and takes them or leaves them. IL ne
takes them. the parcel is entered 10 ms
name. He may keep them for a Day, or ne
may keep them for a week. but the mer-
chant bothers no more until he returns.
Pocketfuls of Stones.
Calling upon a West End jeweler. 1t is a
cOmmon thing for a traveller to produce
$4,000 worth Of stones from his pocket. Tit
stones are in their parcels. and the parcels
are contained in a specially-made leathern
book. The parcels pass from hand to hand
and nobody thinks Of counting the stones
or demanding n receipt.
The trade is dazzling in sentiment. but
remarkably prosaic and business-like In
practice. The merchant or the broker ex-
amines his diamonds Just as he would ex-
anime specimens of cut glass, and that Is
very much what a parcel Of diamonds looks
like in the cold light of day. In a diamond
merchants office they never seem to re-
member that there was such persons as
Aladdin and Monte Cristo.
But for real cold business. with about as
much sentiment as If they were selling
bales Of sugar. you must go to the foun-
tain head. The diamond trade Of the world
is in the hands of the De Beers Company.
and the syndicate in London takes the
whole of their output. Consequently. every
dealer in the world has to come to London
for his rough stones. Very few firms are in
the position to deal directly with the syn
They have to deal through a brok-
er. who may represent half a dozen large
houses.
The monopoly Ia absolute and complete.
A broker approaches the syndicate, not as
one comforting a favor. but as one praying
for It.
May 1 venture to ask for a sight Of your
1rst shipment in May?" he writes. Trust
ing to receive a favorable reply, I am.
yours. etc" II he is lucky enough to re-
ceive a satisfactory answer. he takes s4o.-
90 In his pocket and buys as much stun as
ne can get. 1t is not for him to ask prices.
Those are fixed by the syndicate. He paws
his money and takes his diamonds.
Just before Kimberley was besieged. the
had thirteen parcels to sell. There
we're III applicants for a sight" of the
goods. An English broker went in frs,
md bought four parcels. an American fol-
owed and bought four. another American
ook fve-and the remaining Ill would-bs
purchasers went empty-handed away.
America, being largely populated bv MIL
ionaires takes two-thirds of the diamond
'utput Of the world. and likes quality AZ
veil as quantity. That is why diamonds
ire dear. and likely to remain so. ooh 7
ant sell diamonds at the present price"
avs the English jeweler. D. Beers wiz
~ NNC oIu pTlCo. and
hen l shall do as much trade as ever"
He forSets that the Americans who are the
customers. do not grumhle about the
rice. So long as they do not the Eng
may grumble from one Christina,
o another without effect.
Prices Do Not Rise.
IF that Is So" It may be inquired. ..xhv
ot double the price?' For a simple eco
omic reason. The price is Just about what
was before South African diamonds came
n the market some twenty-five years ago
ut 1t up to any considerable extent. and ~
,ouid pay to reopen the Brazilian ard In
ian mines. which were not exhausted. bpt
hrottled by competition.
Above everything else this will be a pearl
because of the Queens fond
ess for the gem. partly because Il has
cen growing in popularity for some time
asst. The demand Is out of all proportion
} the supply. and prices have reached a
cure never known before.
There Ia a necklace in London at present
rfced at Safo.COo. and the other day a lew
er asked 5000 for a pair OF pear-shaned~
earl earrings Of very modest size.
W. r.. HOLT.