The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-05-05
DIAMOND PRICE IS
SAME OLD FIGURE
In Spite of Shrunken Demand,
Producers Will Keep Up
Former Values
President of Syndicate Tells
How 0verproduction Can
Be Prevented
(From the New York Herald.)

great diamond syndicate of interna
tional fame. which controls SO per cent
of the diamond output OF the world.
assured the Herald yesterday that there
is to be no shrinkage in the price OF
diamonds, despite the fact that there
is now marked decrease in the de-
mand for the precious stones.
Mr.. Abrahams, who is man of very
large personal fortune and is we'll
known throughout most of the British
empire, is making his first visit to
America, having arrived recently on
the Lusitania from his home in London.
His trip is for rest and recreation
rather than for business purposes, and
was prompted primarily by the desire
to visit his daughter, who was married
last September to Edgar j. Mayer. a
member of the New York stock ex
change.
In person the head of the diamond
syndicate is slightly beyond middle
age. He is below rather than above
the average stature, but is thick set
and uncommonly muscular looking.
His hair is dark and abundant, his
close cropped nustache tinged with
gray, and his keen gray eyes look out
from beneath heavy, overhanging
.brows. In manner he is urbane, but
decisive and businesslike, as an Ameri-
gan would expect to note in the per-
sonality of the executive of corpora
ton, supreme in its sphere. which mar
kets a product in precious stones that
has aggregated in a single year the
enormous total value of s4o,000,000.
Though Mr.. sAbrahams might not in
appropriately be called The King OF
Diamonds" he affects in his personal
attire the most severe simplicity. He
was dressed in a business suit of I'M
pretentious black, with plain black
bow tie at his throat. There was not
where. save a few inches of small
gold linked watch chain, from which
depended a modest seal.
Since his arrival Mr.. Abrahams has
devoted considerable time to automo-
billing and to sightseeing in New York
and Washington. He has been i'm
pressed with the busting energy Of
the American metropolis and with the
symmetrical beauty of the capital city,
he has seen of the roads about New
York.
1T is true" said Mr.. Abrahanis, that
since the beginning OF the recent period
of financial stringency in America the
demand for diamonds has been ma
teriaily reduced. Within the last two
or three years, more especially In 1905
ana lSUos the demand LOT diamonds ndQ
increased beyond all precedent. These,
as everybody knows. were years OF
great and almost unbounded prosperity
in America. and in this country during
1906 fully so or 20 per cent of the
worlds total diamond output found its
market. 1t was an easy market, too,
for Americans were buying diamonds
freely.
The De Beers diamond mining COM
De- II
pany OF the Transvaal. and the Jagers-
fontein diamond mining company,
which three corporations jointly sup
ply about SO per cent OF the whole sout-
put. were all kept working to their
full capacity. The demand, without
a doubt greatly exceeded the supply
at that time We found no diffculty
in selling at market rates every carat
that could be mined. and we could
have sold more had more been pro-
duced.
But the recent American crisis in
finance has now altered things mate
rally. From having been the largest
Of customers you Americans arc now
buying practically no diamonds at all
The financial stringency has been of a
kind that has affected chiefly the re-
sources of persons who in ordinary
normal conditions can afford to In
dulge in such luxuries as precious
stones. In consequence of these con-
ditions the De Beers mines within the
last two or three months have been
decreasing their output more than
e-half
Owing to this marked falling of In
the demand there has baen some snerv-
BUSINESS in the. diamond buying world
lest there would follow a cheapening
of prices. Now. dislike anything that
may seem to smack OF advertising.
We have never advertised our business
We do not commonly rush into print
Ours is a business which goes by
itself. But, no doubt, many diamond
buyers and diamond owners have been
misled into the belief that under pres
ent conditions prices are bound to
come down
THAT is an erroneous idea. In reply
to numerous inquiries the De Beers
company, the Premier company of the
Transvaal and the syndicate itself
have all issued official statements an
nouncIng unequivocally their purpose
to maintain prices at their normal
levels AS the concerns named SUBJ
stantially control the worlds output
to be accepted as conclusive and 1t
should allay all nervousness on the
subject
Despite your recent depression am
convinced that there would be some
business here now were it not for the
more or less widespread feeling Of
mistrust in regard to the authenticity
of these assurances. Overproduction
has never been the policy Of any of the
companies named and there will be no
overproduction now. 1t will probably
not be necessary to shut down the
mines. as their output can be readily
curtailed without resorting to so ex-
IRENE measure.
Owing to labor conditions In Africa
and to other considerations. It probably
would be neither expedient nor eco
nomic to close down entirely. but so
far as concerns the ultimate effect upon
the market. it is immaterial whether
the rough diamonds are permitted for
time to lie in the ground or are al
lowed to accumulate in the Golfers of
the companies and the syndicates
There is no doubt OF the ability of
the syndicate to control the situation.
The syndicate's contracts with the Pre-
mier mining company are about to ex-
pire and that company will hereafter
market its own product. but 1t has
given every possible assurance that 1t
will cooperate in the maintenance of
prices. 1t would be contrary to their
cwn interests to do anything else and
am perfectly satisfied with their at
titude.
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