It used to be or still is DeBeers. They had absolute control over the supply and sales of diamonds.
I read a long time ago that diamonds are not really that rare. After all, they’re just compressed carbon, a very comman element.
If it weren’t for DeBeers, the price of diamonds would be $50. a carat.
I could be wrong, I’m no expert.
We haven’t been in the jewelry business for over a decade, but even back then, there were loads of poor quality diamonds on the market. In fact, our dealer, back as far as the mid-1990s, advised us not to buy them unless we had a customer who wanted one and was willing to pay the price and wait for something decent.
We still have a fair amount of semi-precious, some Tanzanite (I love the color) and some sapphire, none of it worth much. The same is true for sterling. Go to sell it and you will get the melt price because it takes energy, equipment and skill to refine it up to fine silver.
OTOH, I have an old Brazilian emerald, great color, few flaws,set in 18kt with a couple of commercial 1/2 carat quality diamonds that I love to wear. It just makes me feel affluent again, for a few hours.
Jewels are an emotional thing. If the economy ever recovers and we defeat the fascists, they may even have real value sometime in the future.
As for gold, it is being manipulated, IMO, by the IMF and the central banks, *balanced* along with their basket of currencies called SDRs. We have some, but haven’t purchased any since it was below $600. I’d rather have a Black and Decker Storm Center hand cranked/solar battery charger and radio and a good water filtration unit at the moment.