Sign in Subscribe

Topic

diamonds

A collection of 11 issues

Diamonds are Forever - Private Governance

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 13. Private Governance Yes, diamonds are well-protected, but they also have characteristics which make them easier to steal, characteristics that raise the costs of protecting them. Namely,

Diamonds are Forever - Property Rights

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 12. Property Rights Property rights, in the economic sense, describe a person’s capacity to exercise control over an asset. Control refers to the ability to appropriate

Diamonds are Forever - Labor Contracts

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 11. Labor Contracts Speaking of movies, in Diamonds are Forever, the seventh film in the James Bond juggernaut, Sean Connery was paid what was then a record-breaking

Diamonds are Forever - Advertising

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 10. Advertising Brinig also documents that America’s first nationwide advertising campaign began in the 1930’s at De Beers’ behest by New York advertising agency Ayers

Diamonds are Forever - Commitment

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 9. Commitment At least in the United States, engagement rings are a relatively recent invention. Before 1935, it was not customary for a man to offer a

Diamonds are Forever - Transaction Costs

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 8. Transaction Costs When De Beers meets with a prospective, commercial buyer, the interaction looks, well, bizarre. The customer tells De Beers what they’re looking for.

Diamonds are Forever - Time Preference

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 6. Time Preference Diamonds are forever. (Technically, diamonds aren’t indestructible. Nuclear blasts and hammers alike would render them liquid or dust, respectively—I asked a materials

Diamonds are Forever - Middlemen

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 5. Middlemen Individual jewelry consumers don’t buy directly from the De Beers Group. Instead, they go to a local jeweler—a middleman. In fact, in advanced,

Diamonds are Forever - The Division of Labor

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 3. The Division of Labor It’s obvious that the distribution of the world’s resources is vastly unequal. What’s sometimes overlooked is that this fact

Diamonds are Forever - Cost and Price

Last week, I posted the first in a series of articles on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 2. Diamond mines are expensive. The heavy machinery used to excavate diamonds likewise comes with a hefty price tag. Unsurprisingly, diamonds themselves can be jaw-droppingly