Brilliance and fire
Subtitle: a biography of diamonds
By: Rachelle Bergstein
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 375
ISBN-13: 9780062323774
Copyright date: 2016
Subjects: Social aspects; Diamond industry and trade; Diamonds; History
Description: "Sheds new light on the enticing, often surprising, story of our society's enduring obsession with the hardest gemstone, offering a fascinating history of its origins and revealing its greatest champions and most colorful enthusiasts. 25,000 first printing,"--NoveList.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-352) and index.
Table of contents: title: The buyers : how the American rich came to love diamonds; title: The seekers : how one sickly Englishman took over the diamond industry; title: The lovers : how young women came to expect diamond rings (part I); title: The show-offs : how a single stone bewitched its owners, and captivated America; title: The optimists : how the industry survived two world wars and the Great Depression; title: The sellers : how young women came to expect diamond rings (part II); title: The queens : how Wallis Simpson earned her diamonds; title: The stars : how an advertising agency got diamonds ready for their close-up; title: The winners : how Elizabeth Taylor learned to speak Italian; title: The meddlers : how little stones got big; title: The inventors : how to make a diamond (and provoke De Beers); title: The illusionists : how the magicians protected their tricks; title: The masters : how the Australians democratized diamonds; title: The stunners : how tough guys started wearing diamonds; title: The critics : how a global crisis changed the meaning of "forever"; title: The innovators : how to sell diamonds in a (more) enlightened world.