DEARER DIAMONDS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 November 1907, Page 3

DEARER DIAMONDS.

Diamonds are becoming dearer, ; Many causes contribute to tlio rise in their price, but according to Messrs.- Darnley and Co.,' the Strand jowellcrs, the diamond is just as-popular .as it ever .was, and its sale is increasing rather than diminishing! ' j "In "1906," said Mr. Darnley, "tho price of diamonds was' raised 20 per cent, during the year ,on account of tho increased demand and scarcity of the supply; •It must ho remembered that only about 10 per cent, of tho mined stuff is any good-for cutting and"-mounting in jewellery. ''lAnothercause of tho riso is , tho now market which the merchants have found in Japan. ~"' i!lie rise may-be traced also to tho fact that' there is not the 'quantity of stones coming, into the London market for cutting. Amoricn is doing an enormous amount of tho' diamond" cutting; in fact, most of the finest stones go direct to America. "This shortage in supply has led to keen competition among the cutters for raw materials, and .this in itself has cauwd an increase in price. Twenty years ago diamonds wero £10 a carat—now they are £35 to £55." '■•'.. The riso is not only confined to diamonds, but it has affected the coloured stonfci—tourmalinos, peridots, and amethysts havo all inoreasedin price. _ A; diamond merchant said recently that it was a sound investment to buy diamonds now, ' for they may go higher'still when tho proposed. agreement between the Do Boers and Premier Companies is ratified.