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The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire
The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire
The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire
Ebook442 pages7 hours

The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire

By Tom Zoellner

3.5/5

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About this ebook

In 2000, Tom Zoellner purchased a diamond engagement ring and proposed. His girlfriend said, "yes" and then, suddenly, walked out of his life making Tom the owner of a used engagement ring. Instead of hitting the self-help shelves of his local bookstore, he hit the road travelling to diamond mines in Africa, Canada, India, Brazil and Russia to discover the true worth of this shining gem. He travelled to Japan to understand how diamonds were linked with engagements and delved into the history of our own American romance with the diamond ring. He gained entry to DeBeers, the London diamond merchants. He visited shopping mall jewellers with starry-eyed couples. Through all of his travels, he searched for an answer to the question "How has one stone created empires, ruined lives, inspired lust and emptied wallets throughout history?" A diamond version of Susan Orleans's The Orchid Thief, Tom Zoellner's The Heartless Stone is a journey to the cold heart of the world's most unyielding gem.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherMacmillan Publishers
Release dateApr 1, 2007
ISBN9781429910125
The Heartless Stone: A Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire
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Author

Tom Zoellner

Tom Zoellner is an award-winning magazine and newspaper journalist. He is a contributing editor for Men's Health magazine and has worked as a Metro reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, The Salt Lake Tribune and The Arizona Republic. He was the 2002 recipient of the Knight Fellowship in Specialized Reporting. He lives in New York City.

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Reviews for The Heartless Stone

3.5/5

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  • 5/5
    Diamonds are an illusion. Tom Zoellner proves this in his engaging account about the diamond trade. The book’s chapters are divided by geographical location. This format helps make each chapter stand on its own, like a series of essays. But, Zoellner ties the narrative together by talking about his engagement and break up with Anne, his former fiancee. It is through describing the joy that Zoellner and his erstwhile fiancee experienced when the diamond was first given that he frames the insanity and obsession that diamonds can elicit. In the chapters exploring the seedier side of the business, the stories shift to the when relationship begins experiencing turbulence and its ultimate breakup. Zoellner finally conducts his own post mortem on it in the chapters talking about the rise of synthetic diamonds, a perceived challenger to the DeBeers hegemony. These personal anecdotes give the already interesting narrative a glue that really ties everything together.The main character of this book is the DeBeers cartel. Like the Smoke Monster in Lost, DeBeers permeates every facet of the business, exerting a grip that is total and astonishing in its casual brutality. DeBeers dispatches agents wherever diamonds are found. The beginning of the book shows how certain countries have buckled, the middle shows how other countries are cautiously trying to branch out from DeBeers’ control, and the last few chapters profile the mavericks who are attempting to spectacularly break free and bring some transparency to the industry. That DeBeers has been able to operate a worldwide monopoly and pumped up the value of a gem that is not all that rare through the creation of artificial scarcity and bully tactics is breathtaking to behold. I don’t think we’ll see another company ever control an industry like DeBeers, and that is a good thing.I highly recommend the book. It is eminently readable and moves along at a fast clip. There are no dead spots within. If you’re looking to buy a diamond ring, read this book before wasting your money on a diamond. If you’ve already made that mistake, then pick this book up to read about the insidious effect that marketing and advertising has had in creating the cultural need to express love with diamonds and diamonds alone. Hell, if you have any interest at all in world affairs, read this book.
  • 2/5
    After his girlfriend broke off their engagement and he got the ring, Zoellner went on a journey to find out where diamonds come from. The resulting book is boring and materialistic; the author needs to get over his ex. There are many more informative books on diamond mining that don't have a self-centred author bleating about his broken relationship. He claims the diamond industry will always thrive because a diamond "is the only luxury thing everybody has to buy". Really?? I'm giving this a generous two stars.