Summary
Palestine’s specialization in cutting and polishing small stones (Sand and Melees), the slot occupied before the war by Belgium, decided before the Palestine Diamond Manufacturers’ Association was established and made the focus of training, production and De Beers supply (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.89-90).
Details
- In 1937-1940 the supply reaching Palestine under the specialization was 70-80 percent Sand, about 20 percent the slightly bigger Melees, and the rest big stones such as Baguettes; in the small stones there are 70-80 stones in 1 carat (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.91).
- Frederick Mathias and Ernst Oppenheimer initially opposed the specialization, contending a new center could not survive on a narrow selection and that it would compromise Limited expansion and harm Belgium’s recovery; they were persuaded by control and quick-training arguments (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.89).
- The two main cuts applied were the single-cut (eighteen facets) and the full-cut (fifty-eight facets); concentration in single-cuts allowed greater industrial productivity (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.92).
- The specialization determined Palestine’s dependence on the Diamond Trading Company: it would have to live off De Beers’s reserves of small stones through the only source of supply the British allowed (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.90).