Evening star., 1923-02-04

" ment ring yet?' I mean the
one you were pricing last
week for the most wonderful
girl in the world. If not, you had
better get busy. Diamonds are rising
and the prospects are they will never
again be as cheap as just now.
The world war, which sent tire
prices Of everything else to the heav-
ems. flooded the market with preci-
Gus stones. II impoverished the
stable old families of Paris, Berlin
and Vienna, and their heirlooms have
found the way to the pawnshops. 1t
threw kings. queens and princes out
of job, and they have been hawk
ing their crown jewels to keep soul
and body together. More than all
else, the bolsheviks have stolen the
great store os diamonds from the
palaces and churches of Russia and
su-reptitiously scattered them far and
wide over the earth. I am told the
flood from these various fountains
has now run its course, and that the
demand again exceeds the supply.
Moreover, there is serious talk of a
combination OF the cut-diamond deal
ers into a trust like the great rough
diamond syndicate, which, for dec
AIDES, has controlled the output Of the
mines Of South Africa and other dla-
Inond fields OF the world. This in
formation comes to me from the dia-
nond magnates of Amsterdam and
Antwerp. the two great centers where
the finest and most costly stones are
cut for the principal markets.
Few industries have been more at
fected by the world war than those
relating to pearls, diamonds and other
precious stones. Before the trouble
began all mankind seemed to be buy
ing. Antwerp and Amsterdam were
taking all the rough stones they
could get from Kimberley and the
Transvaal and the Germans were ex-
plotting the new diamond territory
OF their southwest African colony. At
that time the British mines were pro-
ducing about Ave million carats per
annum, and the German mines had
already reached one-fourth of this
production. The Germans were sell
ing most of their product to the Ant
werp syndicate, which was competing
with the London syndicate In the
rough-diamond market, but they were
also planning a German syndicate to
be operated with German money and
have it's stones cut by German iapt-
daries so that the whole business
would como to Hamburg or Berlin.
They had even issued circulars ad-
vertising for BIDS on that years out
put Of the German southwest African
mines, allowing only such Arms to
compete as could deposit $25o,0o0
with their bids. More than one mil
lion carats Of diamonds were in
volved in the auction, and all told
they were then worth in tho neigh
borhood Of 37.ooo,o0o.
THE German colonial government
i at Berlin had already sent out
propaganda to advertise these south
west African diamonds, and the mar
ket created was such that the supply
was exhausted before the end Of each
season The diamonds were popular
also with the cutters and polishers.
because, although small, they pos
sessed a beautiful water and were
easily worked. In 1912 nineteen ship
ments Of these German diamonds,
amounting to Just under $5.00o.o00 in
value, were put on the market. Of
which about e5 per cent came to Ant
werp.
Then the war broke and the new
diamond territory was fought over
by the British and Germans. and at
its close was taken over by the Brit
ish-a small part Of the great assets
England obtained from the war,
which she does not seem to consider
in the debt she owes Uncle Sam. She
has already begun to work these
diamond delds. and in 1890 their out
put was more than 100000 carats
valued at s15.ooo,ooo. During the
year 1919 she took from her mines
in Kimberley and the Transvaal dia-
1nonds to the amount of more than
$175,000,0o0. There was slump in
the output of those mines in 1920.
but the supply Of diamonds there is
increase or decrease 1t at will. I
have visited both fields and gone down
into the hugh pipes from where the
stones come. and It seems TO me that
they will be taking out gems there
when we have the millennium.
The Union OF South Africa is the
region where diamonds are found I'm
bedded in rock so that they can be
mined. They exist there In great
pipes Of blue clay which some convui-
sion Of nature has driven up through
other and harder rock to the surface
OF the earth. These pipes are Of
enormous size and depth. The kim
barley mine which I visited is an
eIlipse about half a mile in circum-
ference and now more than half q