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Edward Jay Epstein

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Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? And Other Investigations of the Diamond Trade Kindle Edition

by Edward Jay Epstein (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 36 ratings

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Edward Jay Epstein investigates the most brilliant illusion in modern history: the illusion that diamonds are so rare that they will maintain their value forever. He explains how the the De Beers cartel, backed by a syndicate of Jewish diamond dealers in London, created an artificial scarcity by controlling the worldwide supply and used modern advertising to establish it in the mind of the public. In this book, comprised of six essays, we also learn about the secret workings of the cartel over the past century, including:

+ Why you cannot always sell diamonds for the price you paid?

+ Why Russia is now taking over the cartel operation?

+ How De Beers now uses the concept of blood diamonds to control prices?

+ Why Nicky Oppenheimer exited De Beers in 2011?

Praise for Edward Jay Epstein:

"Brilliant Expose of the International diamond monopoly"
--Telegraph (London)

"Full of readable if somewhat garish descriptions of diamond mines, diamond traders, and the activities of governments. If Ian Fleming were alive, he would have found much rewarding material here."
-Woodrow Wyatt, Sunday Times

Print length

94 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

Dec 3 2013
File size

1677 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Edward Jay Epstein is the author of fifteen books. He studied government at Cornell and Harvard and received a Ph.D from Harvard in 1973. His thesis on the search for political truth became a best-selling book, Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth. His doctoral dissertation on television news was published as News From Nowhere. He is the recipient of numerous foundation grants and awards, including the prestigious Financial Times/Booz Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Award for both best biography and best business book for Dossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer. He has written for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in New York City. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0050CM1K0
Publisher ‏ : ‎ EJE Publications Ltd,Inc.; 2 edition (Dec 3 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1677 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 94 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1494372215

Best Sellers Rank: #1,353,926 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,193 in Popular Economics (Kindle Store)
- #10,986 in United States 20th Century History (Kindle Store)
- #12,231 in Popular Economics (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.9 36 ratings

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Edward Jay Epstein

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I studied government at Cornell and Harvard, and received a Ph.D from Harvard in 1973. My master's thesis on the search for political truth ("Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth" and my doctoral dissertation ("News From Nowhere") were both published as books. I taught political science at MIT and UCLA. I have now written 14 books. My website www.edwardjayepstein.com)

Top reviews from other countries

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BRUNO S.

Diamante ilusório

Reviewed in Brazil on September 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

Gostei do livro. Explica como funciona mercado de diamantes e como ele deve ser considerado uma semi-jóia. A tática de marketing do cartel é impressionante e funciona até hoje. Que mulher não gostaria de um diamante? Diamantes são eternos, compre e nunca venda. O valor de recompra de diamantes me impressionou. Realmente um péssimo investimento.

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Seth Roberts

Why We Believe What We Believe

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2012

Verified Purchase

By sheer force of advertising, De Beers managed to convince roughly everyone that a diamond is the best token of affection and that diamonds are a good investment. You might think that what constitutes the best token of affection is something that was determined long ago but, to Epstein's (and my) surprise, this is a relatively new idea, so recent that it was possible for Epstein to find out how it was done. The notion that big companies are able to control something as intimate as what a man gives a woman to show his love might be straight out of Orwell except that the story told here is considerably more detailed than anything Orwell imagined -- and is true.

To me it is a story about how we can be made to believe something not because the belief has a basis in fact but because the belief would benefit someone (in this case, the De Beers company). Now the belief in diamonds as a great investment seems to be coming to an end, as the last chapter in the book describes. I can't think of another book that so clearly shows how and how much our beliefs can be controlled.

10 people found this helpful

Moop

Curious

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2012

Verified Purchase

A thoroughly interesting delve into the world of De Beers and its less than moral dealings. Writen in an accesible style with a definate intelligence, I find this research worrying, but believable in it's application.

One person found this helpful

rebecca b.

Interesting book but definitely needed proofreading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

A very interesting book on the diamond industry - a collection of articles previously published by the author since the 70s rather than an actual dissertation on the subject.
However the book was clearly not proofread before publication. Occasional grammatical mistakes can be overlooked, but entire paragraphs repeated is more than an oversight.

Darcy S.

A Tough Read But Worth It

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

An extremely, and at times overwhelmingly, in depth look at the diamond trade - its history and structure, marketing practices, and its role in international politics. Very well written, but technical - I had to pause every few pages to process the information.

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Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? And Other Investigations of the Diamond Trade Kindle Edition

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Follow the author

Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond? And Other Investigations of the Diamond Trade Kindle Edition

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About the Author

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About the author

Edward Jay Epstein

Customer reviews

Top reviews from Canada

Top reviews from other countries