Diamonds are found literally the world over from black specimens in Brazil to flawless whites in Arkansas. Unquestionably the largest supply of diamonds comes from South Africa where the mines are owned and run by the De Beers family and have been for a number of years. De Beers closely guard both the stones and information about their production.
Diamonds are found typically in a type of formation known as a pipe because of its resemblance to a pipe driven vertically in the ground. The top part of the pipe normally contains yellow earth which contains natural stones which can be fairly easily crumbled and separated out by specific gravity and the fact that diamonds stick to grease. Most stones do not.
Once the yellow earth pushed from the pipe is used up, the second section is known as blue earth. This is a much harder, clay-like material that at first was thought to contain no diamonds and be too hard to crack open because any diamonds inside would be smashed by the cracking process. It was later discovered this clay-like material dries in the sun or under artificial heat to a consistency that allows it to be crumbled. It does contain as many or more stones as the yellow earth section of the pipe does.
De Beers have a unique position, more so than any other firm in any other field of commodities. They literally control the price and availability of diamonds the world over. They do this through something called the Central Selling Organization (CSO). The CSO has controlled the sales of almost all gem quality diamonds in the world until recently.
They allow sales in a unique ceremony known as a sight allocation where upon a De Beers authorized dealer is allowed to buy a certain number of stones they select, wrap and deliver to him at a price they set. This is not an offering but a take-it-or-leave-it situation and if one leaves too many finally De Beer or CSO no longer deals with that particular person. He will no longer be a sight holder. This relationship between the sight holders and the CSO is an instrument to instill fear in the wholesaler who depends upon a single supplier.
The CSO, in order to maintain its level of prices, buys or guarantees to buy all natural diamonds produced in the world. They do this in order to maintain an exact supply and demand ratio they feel is advantageous to the market.
Extra stones are stored in bank vaults, supposedly in London and a few other countries and only marketed when the supply for them increases. De Beers and their organization, the CSO, do not make public exactly how many diamonds are being produced and how many are being released or what the price would fall to if the natural odds of supply and demand took over, rather than the structured sales organization.
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