Saturday 5 July 2008

 

The latest culture as recommended by our staff

Liz Anderson

Liz suggests


London’s diamond trade may not be forever

Wednesday, 16th May 2007

Richard Orange says London’s traditional dominance of global dealing in uncut stones is under threat from new players based in India, China and Dubai

‘How does it feel to hold $9 million in the palm of your hand?’ One of the world’s leading diamond buyers, Rajiv Mehta, watches intently for my reaction to this question: the sachet of dull glassy pebbles I am gently weighing, if I could somehow get them out of this building and into the hands of some Antwerp middleman, would buy me one of London’s most prestigious addresses, my own island in the Bahamas, or a country-sized swath of the Argentinean pampas.

Slim chance: the building is one of the most secure in London and we are in one of its most secure rooms — a ‘sight room’, where buyers examine diamonds. The London headquarters of the Diamond Trading Company, in Charterhouse Street near Hatton Garden where the jewellery trade is centred, is part 1970s office block, part modern fortress. There’s no company logo outside, no reference to diamonds or DTC — or De Beers which owns DTC, or Anglo American which in turns owns 45 per cent of De Beers. The only clue to its purpose, apart from the thickness of its walls, is the occasional arrival of an armoured van at its solid metal gates.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4  Next page 

More articles from: Richard Orange | this section

Subscribe now

Post this entry to:   del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

Comments

Post a comment


Your comment:*

Your name:*

Your email address:*
(We won't publish this)

*Required information

Please click the button only once - your comment will not be published immediately


In this section

The market’s favourite scapegoat

Christopher Fildes

Christopher Fildes on short selling

Fading memories of the Raj in the tea gardens of Assam

Richard Orange

Richard Orange says the Indian tea industry is enjoying a revival — but that the traditional tea-planters’ way of life, established by the British, is passing into history

There is not much to distinguish Dhanesheva Kurmi from the rest of the crowd at the Hautely Tea Estate, a remote garden an hour and a half’s bumpy drive from the Assamese town of Jorhat.

Related articles

I wrote ‘hug a hoodie’ and I’m proud of it

Danny Kruger

Danny Kruger, who was David Cameron’s speechwriter, defends his most notorious piece of work for the Tory leader and says that love is a neglected crime-fighting device

Diary

Raffaella Barker

Raffaella Barker moves back to London and enjoys a circus

Trouble and strife

William Leith

William Leith on Dietmar Rothermund's account of India

Getting to the heart of the matter

Charlotte Moore

Charlotte Moore on Andrew Taylor's latest thriller

How bad government caused the food crisis

Julian Morris

Julian Morris argues that recent shortages and price rises of staple food in Asia and Latin America have been caused as much by parasitical politicians as by poor harvests

Spectator recommends

Sky - Official Site

Build your own Sky package online. Sky TV, Broadband & Talk only £16.

IT Careers and Training at Computeach

Typical IT salary in the UK is £39K. Get fantastic IT training to find a career in IT. Apply today.


Spectator classifieds

ROME CENTRE

PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique

City Breaks. ROME and PARIS

ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit  www.romanreference.com  and  www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.

Jewellery. RUFFS (Estd. 1904).

Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs!  You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other