Ebook: Diamonds

Title Page; Imprint; Contents; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1 The Geology and History of Diamonds; 2 Supply and Demand -- the Business of Diamonds; 3 Blood Diamonds; 4 Activism; 5 Regulation; 6 Power and Politics; 7 Development; 8 Loose Ends; Notes; Selected readings; Index.;Diamonds are a multi-billion dollar business involving some of the world's largest mining companies, a million and a half artisanal diggers, more than a million cutters and polishers and a huge retail jewellery sector. But behind the sparkle of the diamond lies a murkier story, in which rebel armies in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Congo turned to diamonds to finance their wars. Completely unregulated, so-called blood diamonds became the perfect tool for money laundering, tax evasion, drug-running and weapons-trafficking. Diamonds brings together for the first time all aspects of th.