Tell me, Commander, how far does your expertise extend into the field of diamonds? Diamonds are Forever 1971 starring Sean Connery & Jill St John & Charles Gray & Lana Wood & Jimmy Dean & Bruce Cabot & Bernard Lee & Putter Smith & Bruce Glover & Norman Curton & Demond Llewelyn & Louis Maxwell, director Guy Hamilton, Donald Munger - Rough Diamonds 2023 -
A large deposit of diamonds on the surface; perhaps the hardest substance known in the universe. (Star Trek & Diamond) Star Trek: Arena s1e18, Captain into tricorder
The Wild West was tame compared to Kimberley. Here there was a bar for every sixteen men. And shootings were an everyday occurrence. But Rhodes thrived as a diamond digger. Empires: Queen Victoria’s Empire IV: The Scramble for Africa, PBS 2001
No gold-digging for me ... I take diamonds. We may be off the gold standard someday. Mae West
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond. Mae West
Rumour had it that at a party at Nelson Mandela’s house in 1997 [Naomi] Campbell had been given the gift of a large uncut diamond. Her testimony was important. Celebrity Scandals that Shocked Britain
The jungle is dark but full of diamonds. Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
A kiss on the hand may be quite continental,
But diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Leo Robin, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, song 1949
Some dirty little stones. Naomi Campbell
Great virtues may draw attention from defects, they cannot sanctify them. A pebble surrounded by diamonds remains a common stone, and a diamond surrounded by pebbles is still a gem. Robert G Ingersoll, The Great Infidels
It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all. Mark Twain
If God wanted us to bend over He’d put diamonds on the floor. Joan Rivers
Big girls needs big diamonds. Elizabeth Taylor
So I really think that American gentlemen are the best after all, because kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and sapphire bracelet lasts forever. Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1925
Using an ultra-high pressure and high temperature machine they transformed a mixture of metal and carbon into diamond. Stuff: A Horizon Guide to Materials, BBC 2012
Synthetic diamonds have never become as popular as the natural form. ibid.
At the heart of a white dwarf astronomers believe there is a giant crystal of pure diamond. A cosmic diamond thousands of kilometres across. How the Universe Works s1e4: Stars, Discovery 2010
It was the perfect trade circle. Weapons manufactured mainly in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union ... would be flown into the conflict areas of Africa. Russian pilots were especially welcome as they often knew the terrain well from the Cold War period. The weapons were traded for diamonds ... The only people who lost out were the dead and maimed Angolans. Misha Glenny, McMafia
With the minimum of resources and at considerable personal risk, Global Witness decided to map every twist and turn in the road that brought diamonds from Angola to London and New York. ibid.
And in late 1998 they published their report, A Rough Trade: The Role of Companies and Governments in the Angola Conflict. Apart from illustrating who all the bad guys on the ground were, they pointed the finger at the Western corporate world. De Beers was the central target, as it enjoyed a near-monopoly on the sale of rough diamonds through its London subsidiary. ibid.
Douglas Farah, an exceptionally talented Washington Post reporter, then uncovered an al-Qaeda network involved in the West African diamond trade. ibid.
I have here a report which deals with diamonds … ‘it does appear to be highly organized.’ River Beat 1954 starring Robert Ayres & Leonard White & Ewan Roberts & Glyn Houston & Margaret Anderson & Charles Lloyd Pack et al, director Guy Green, rozzers
Jewellery ... behind the bling the beating heart of the trade in precious metals and priceless stones is to be found in one tiny corner of London: welcome to Hatton Garden. Diamond Geezers and Gold Dealers, ITV 2014
Over 50% of Britain’s diamond trade passes through Hatton Garden each year. ibid.
Is not one perfect diamond more warming than a thousand semi-precious fragments? King Richard and the Crusaders aka Talisman 1954 starring Rex Harrison & Virginia Mayo & George Sanders & Laurence Harvey & Robert Douglas & Michael Pate & Paul Raymond & Lester Matthews & Antony Eustrel et al, director David Butler, Saracen doctor
Are diamonds what we think they are, precious and rare? Frontline: The Diamond Empire, 1994
What we think about diamonds is in fact a myth: at the centre of that myth is an illusion - that diamonds are valuable because they are rare … diamonds aren’t rare at all. ibid.
‘The real business is restricting what came out of the ground.’ ibid. Edward Epstein
One family gained control of the world’s diamond trade. ibid.
Around 47th Street there are 25,000 people buying, selling, cutting, polishing and marketing diamonds. ibid.
Their value depends on colour, clarity and cut. ibid.
The headquarters of that club is London … 17 Charter House Street: this is a fortress. ibid.
‘I noticed that there’s something wrong with the Japanese diamond industry. I saw a chance to make a lot of money there. I can sell the diamonds here for four or five times the original price … The diamonds they’re selling there aren’t any good.’ Taking Down Tokyo’s Corrupt Diamond Syndicate, Kyoji, Vice 2015
The De Beers group is an absolute in the diamond industry. They control all the best mines. But only the Diamond Trade Company can purchase rough diamonds from De Beers. The Diamond Trade Company is the one who actually sells the rough diamonds on the market. And the people who have the right to purchase rough diamonds from them are called sightholders. There are only 130 or so sightholders. ibid.
Sierra Leone: From 1991 to 2002 the sale of over a billion dollars in rough diamonds funded a rebel army who committed horrible atrocities against civilians. These rough diamonds became known as blood diamonds. Diamonds, Gold & Guns, National Geographic 2017
Throughout the ages diamonds have inspired poets and smugglers, gentlemen and thieves … Many diamonds are said to carry a curse … Is there such a thing as a diamond curse? In Search of s3e20 … The Diamond Curse, 1979
In scenes that seem to come straight out of a film script – the dozen de Beers diamonds at the Dome in London. Inside the Heist s1e1: The Millennium Diamonds, Quest 2022
The Millennium Star is the diamond of all diamonds. A once in a lifetime discovery – 777 carats. ibid.
The Millennium Dome is the most ambitious plan the country has seen for years … De Beers, the world’s most famous diamond merchants, are called in to add sparkle. ibid.
‘The Flying Squad observed the gang carrying out reconnaissance of the Millennium dome at really random times.’ ibid.
… According to researchers, no place in the world has as much cocaine in the sewage water as Antwerp. Cocaine capital of the world … Rough Diamonds I, geezers in jam-jar, Netflix 2023
… Critics are saying that the city is not doing enough to stop the criminals … ibid.
We’re not just gonna get them all in jail, right? ibid. rozzer
He [father] wanted me to stay but I wanted to go. ibid. Noah to Thomas
My brother killed himself because of you. That’s not enough, huh? ibid. Noah to bookie
This is the problem: this culture of whispers. So-called honour, the silence. It’s a disease. And you wonder why I left. ibid. Noah
We’re all alone in this business nowadays. ibid. Adina
If I see you and your monkeys around again, this won’t go so well for you. ibid. Noah to bookie
Yanki has caused more problems that you can imagine, Noah. ibid. Adina
Wolfson Diamonds has bought rough stone for the sum 1.5 million … The debt has not been settled in whole or in part. Rough Diamonds s1e2, arbitration
Will Wolfson Diamonds even exist in three years? ibid. creditor
The Albanians are probably laundering money this way. ibid. rozzer to boss