History Now!: The True Story of Diamonds

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Diamonds are coveted, especially by the rich and famous. Marilyn Monroe sang about rhinestones just like Rihanna. Naomi Campbell even received them as a gift, but from the wrong person: the blood diamonds of the Liberian dictator came as a result of the civil war in Sierra Leone. The history of diamonds revolves around wealth, domination and exploitation, but things started out very differently.

In ancient Egypt, precious stones from distant India were used as tools. The construction of the famous pyramids is unthinkable without diamonds. The Romans believed in the magical power of crystals. They will banish madness and overcome every poison. And Christians went even further: like Jesus, a diamond protects against all evil. Hence his name: Adamas, the indomitable.

August the Strong also wanted to be invincible. The Elector of Saxony lived in the era of absolutism and had a role model: the Indian Great Mogul. So he built his court with a throne of 5,000 diamonds. However, for reasons of economy only in the size of the table – a symbol of power in the format of a dollhouse. Queen Victoria went one step further than the strong Augustus by exhibiting the Koh-i-Noor, the world’s most famous diamond, in London. Shortly before this, the gem symbolized the power of the Sikhs in the Punjab. Now the diamond symbolized the power of the British Empire over all of India.

In Africa, more precisely in Namibia, it was also about the colonial capture of sparkling stones. Diamonds were discovered here in 1908 in the sands of the desert, which was then a German colony. But who should dig them up? After the genocide of the Herero and the Nama, there were no indigenous forced laborers left in the country – most of them were killed. Miners from the Ruhr area and orphans from German cities must intervene. Finally, migrant workers arrived from the Ovambo area. They urgently needed money and wanted to spy on the Germans. But so many Ovambo died because of the disastrous working conditions. When the British took control of the country during the First World War, exploitation continued without issue.

But the British made big money in South Africa. There, the British company De Beers owned the most profitable diamond mines in the world. Conveniently, the company also sold its own diamonds. Sales and production are in the same hands – strengthening the monopoly is impossible. But during World War II, sales dropped. De Beers is now betting on a new trend from the US: spontaneous commitments. Thus, women were financially protected if their loved one died in the war, and for men at the front, the groom was the anchor of longing at home. And what you need to do? An engagement ring, of course, for eternity: the advertising slogan “A diamond is forever” was born. Diamonds, which until then were men’s jewelry, now became the best friends of girls, and De Beers rubbed his hands.

Diamonds represent wealth, and wealth makes the world go round. Luxury and exploitation go hand in hand. But beware of the reproach of the rich: with a mobile phone in your trouser pocket, it looks no better, because its raw materials are also extracted under exploitative conditions for all of us.

Source: Blick