Reviews for The Heartless Stone: A Journey through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire

The average rating for The Heartless Stone: A Journey through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-02-02 00:00:00 Ellen Berryman I lounged in a stuffed armchair, transfixed by Daphne Du Maurier's novel, Jamaica Inn, when I was startled to attention by a sparkly stone hurtled from the staircase. It skimmed over my head, landed on the living room hearth, and skittered into the cold brick, fireplace. My parents never divorced but they had some epic battles. Dad swore like the sailor he once was and Mom threw things. Today's battle was memorable because my mother had recently switched from breakable objects, like my sister's "made with love in art class" ceramic ashtray, to Mom's more symbolic, engagement ring containing the hardest stone on the planet. This particular fight was fierce and at it's zenith she reached for her ring to deliver the coup de grâce. Alas, Mom had just reached such a level of plumpness that the ring remained trapped at the base of her red, sweaty finger, increasing her fury to an added degree. Angrily she stomped up the stairs to soap her hand. Diamonds and conflict apparently go together, as I learned from The Heartless Stone, a Journey Through the World of Diamonds, Deceit, and Desire, by Tom Zoellner. His book is a methodical study of diamonds, the diamond industry, and the diamond market, all within the framework of Zoellner's personal experience with one particular diamond, a diamond on a ring returned to him from Ann, his almost wife. Diamond obsessed and wistfully saddened, the intrepid Zoellner travels the world investigating the diamond trade: Africa, Canada, Japan, Australia, India, Russia and the U.S. Although, the trade is one of the least transparent industries on the globe, Zoellner digs for truth and shines a light on its practices. What is exposed is not sparkle and dreams. Companies from De Beers to Zales, who want to keep their extraordinary 50% or more markup, control the narrative of the stone and are able to manipulate popular culture to associate diamonds in our minds with qualities of: trust, loyalty, commitment, love, passion, frugality, status and financial success. But the truth is, the diamond trade is also associated with starvation wages, smuggling, unhealthy work conditions, deception, price fixing, finance of civil wars, theft, and even murder (of suspected thieves). Getting a diamond to market might also involve child labor. You may have heard this before and think that child labor is no longer tolerated, but in places such as India these abuses are easy to hide and continue to this day. I was most surprised to learn that diamonds are not even scarce, as we are led to believe; companies release just the right amount of them to keep that myth alive. It is a rare person who has never faced, at some time in their life, overwhelming pressure to purchase one or more of these very expensive, glittery rocks, whether as a marriage promise, mall jewelry, or a piece of hip-hop bling. Responsible consumers might want to educate themselves about its ugly origin, protect themselves from being taken to the cleaners and avoid abusing our fellow humans. The Heartless Stone is a good place to begin that education. After many minutes in the upstairs bathroom, hand held under cold soapy water, my furious mother triumphantly stomped back down the stairs and threw her ring. Dad was no longer in the vicinity and the unintended result was a daughter who, from then on, would not find diamonds all that desirable. The Heartless Stone did nothing to disabuse me of this notion. I would recommend this book to anyone with a curious mind, and an appreciation of polished investigative adventure writing whether or not you harbor a diamond obsession.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-08-28 00:00:00 Jose Villarreal Reading one of Tom Zoellner's books often feels like travelling - travelling around the world, and also back and forth in time. The Heartless Stone is no exception. In this engaging book, prepare to discover how much you didn't know about diamonds and just how amazingly much of what we think we know is actually myth or simply assumptions that were created for us. The countless interviews with people span the globe, and take in every perspective that you can glean without actually hopping on a plane and getting them yourself. Zoellner's ground up approach, covering people from the lowest to the highest levels in the diamond industry, gives a complete image that would compel you to keep reading. Definitely worth a read.