Following diamonds from African mines to the necklines of high
society women, this international history shows why Jews were
central to the transatlantic gem trade and its growth into a global
industry. During the late nineteenth century, tens of thousands of
diggers, prospectors, merchants, and dealers extracted and shipped
over 50 million carats of diamonds from South Africa to London. The
primary supplier to the world, South Africa's diamond fields became
one of the formative sites of modern capitalist production. At each
stage of the diamond's route through the British empire and
beyond-from Cape Town to London, from Amsterdam to New York
City-carbon gems were primarily mined, processed, appraised, and
sold by Jews. In A Brilliant Commodity, historian Saskia Coenen
Snyder traces how once-peripheral Jewish populations became the
central architects of a new, global exchange of diamonds that
connected African sites of supply, European manufacturing centers,
American retailers, and western consumers. Centuries of
restrictions had limited Jews to trade and finance, businesses that
often heavily relied on internal networks. Jews were
well-positioned to become key players in the earliest stage of the
diamond trade and its growth into a global industry, a development
fueled by technological advancements, a dramatic rise in the demand
of luxury goods, and an abundance of rough stones. Relying on
mercantile and familial ties across continents, Jews created a
highly successful commodity chain that included buyers, brokers,
cutters, factory owners, financiers, and retailers. Working within
a diasporic ethnic community that bridged city and countryside,
metropole and colony, Jews helped build a flourishing diamond
industry, notably Hatton Garden in London and the Diamond District
of New York City, and a place for themselves in the modern world.
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