Los Angeles herald., 1905-10-15
THE DIAMOND SUPPLY
Dealers Report a Scarcity Of Fine
Stones

| York from the European market tel
stories of increasing difficulties in get
| ting stones in the sizes and grades
suitable for the American market
Those who buy directly from the Lon
| don syndicate which controls the trade
say that, notwithstanding the develop
ment Of new mines, the output of the
crystals in quality UP to the standard
gems is diminishing.
Importers who deal with the syndi-
cate say that they stand ready to take
much larger quantities of diamonds
than they are getting. The importers
pay cash before they get the stones and
the syndicate fixes its own prices. 1t is
argued. therefore, that the corporation
would certainly release more gems If it
had them.
Not frequently an importer is disap-
pointed by not receiving a consignment
of gems when he expects them. The ex-
PLANTATION, coming from the other side,
is that the supplies at Cape Colony and
Natal have not been sufficiently large
to make the regular weekly shipments
as formerly, so that there have been ar
rivals Of diamonds only every other
week.
At first glance this scarcity of fine
diamonds seems inconsistent with the
statistics given out by the customs
authorities at New York, showing,
month after month, increases in the
valuation of precious stones and pearls
imported to this city. While the ap-
praiser of the port does not in his sta
tistics separate the diamonds from
other precious stones and from pearls.
yet 1t is known that diamonds are the
really large item in the total.
For the fiscal year ended June 80 the
aggregate was upward of s33,O0O,O0O,
this being a gain of about $6,000000 for
the year. Since then the July figures
have been made public. showing a con-
tinuation OF the enormous importation,
breaking all previous records.
Show these figures to an importer
for the purpose of convincing him that
people are getting more diamonds than
formerly and he will shake his head. He
will tell you that the valuation is
higher, but not the number of carats.
Diamonds of the size and quality
which today bring 176 English shillings
a carat in the rough sold seven years
ago for 70 shillings. In the last year
the syndicate made several advances,
5 per cent on each occasion, besides
adding to the cost by new rules affect
ing the size and quality of the precious
minerals.
1t may be supposed that the import
ers look for relief to the new Premier
mine in the Transvaal, the only dia-
mond mine of any Importance that is
not controlled by the De Beers Con-
solidated Mines, Ltd. When the output
of this independent mine, upon which
work began In 1903, jumped early last
year above 10000 carats a month the at
tention Of the world was attracted.
The discovery of the S032-carat Guilt
nan diamond a few months ago added
to the interest. Promises of lots Of dia-
monds were made and are still being
made, yet the men IN New York who
import most Of the stones that come
here say that thus far the Premier
has had no practical effect on the gem
business In the United States.
The total exports of diamonds from
the Cape of Good Hope at one time
amounted to nearly 100000 carats in
a year. The last year that the total
amounted to over 100000 carats, as
official figures indicate, was 1898. By
1903 the cape exports had declined to
2,656,587 carats.
A year or 30 ago an estimate was
made that the worlds demand for
diamonds in valuation was s25,00O,000 a
year and that the De Beers mines made
a profit each year OF s12,5oO,OOo. An
official report of the De Beers mines
for the year ended June 30, 1908, said
that its output amounted in value to
s24, 332, 500, and last year ,notwithstand-
ing advances in prices, this figure was
barely reached, because production was
less.
The usual estimates have credited
the De Beers mines with providing
from so to 80 per cent of the gem dia-
monds Of the world, and according to
New York importers the syndicate stu
holds this commanding position, and
will continue to do so until greater
supplies of fine diamonds are revealed
in fields beyond the De Beers control
than are now in sight.