I can't find the article in the online edition, even though it's the main headline in today's business section of the Edmonton Journal, but here's something simple, but something I have to admit I'd never thought of. How do you help control the flow of "blood diamonds"? What's to stop brokers from buying diamonds from all the new mines that are opening up in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (even Alberta has a few promising sites), sending them off to Antwerp for polishing and then mixing in Liberian or Sierra Leonean diamonds and selling them to wholesalers as Canadian?
Well, Tiffany's, the big New York-based jewellery chain has taken the mountain to Mohammed: it's actually opening up a cutting and polishing centre right in beautiful downtown Yellowknife, capital (such as it is) of the Northwest Territories. The plant will cost C$3 million to build and they have contracted with the Diavik mine for an annual supply of US$50 million worth of gem quality diamonds beginning in 2003 (including the laser-etching of a polar bear one of the bottom facets). That has the advantage of getting around the oligopoly of DeBeers, which is losing more and more control over the diamond market because of these rather surprising finds in the Canadian Arctic (I mean, whodathunkit?). Tiffany's figures 25% of its diamonds will eventually come from Canada, and it can use this to market themselves as a "blood-free" supplier, as it were. It cuts costs for Tiffany's, too, despite the remoteness of the operation, because what they've done, of course, is integrate upstream, as they say in the oil industry. That is, they've cut out New York, Tel Aviv and Antwerp's middlemen and established their own cutting facility, substantially reducing the cost of the final diamonds. Good news for young fiancées (or the fiancés who pay for them) starting in about 5 years: look for a drop in retail prices by 10-15%. [that last part isn't in the article; it's my own personal estimate] -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." --Michelangelo Buonarroti Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
