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Crystal of the Month Herkimer Diamond

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 15:40:00 +0000

Crystal of the Month Herkimer Diamond

Crystal of the Month Herkimer Diamond

Background:Herkimer diamonds
are another crystal that becomes an instant student favorite.   For centuries this incredible form of quartz was found in the foothills of Herkimer County, in New York state. Herkimer diamonds,and the county,were named after aGeneral Herkimer, who in the 1700'sbelieved these crystals were diamonds.These   crystals   were   well   known   and highly esteemed by the Mohawk Indians and the early settlers who found them in all the fields and streams. Today, there are high quality quartz crystals that many believe qualify as herkimer diamonds. In my experience with these crystals, I am reluctant to share this belief, primarily because the energy of those stones is so different. These stones are found in Arkansas (Arkimer Diamonds), Oaxaca Mexico(Oaxaccamer Diamonds, Amethyst Oaxaccamer Diamonds) Odd   West Virginia (Odd Quartz Diamonds)Spain, and Pakistan (Pakimer Diamonds).A few of those are known to contain rutile (titanium dioxide) or goethite (a form of iron that has a similar shape as rutile). You will also find double terminated quartz from China, Tibet, Africa, and other places that are sold as herkimer diamonds. They are a marketing scam. In my experience, there is no comparison to the real Herkimer diamonds. It is the energy and   quality   that   sets herkimer   diamonds apart   from   other   double terminated quartz. Normally, herkimer diamonds have 18 facets and are double terminated.   The crystals in the center of the picture are typical herkimer diamonds. The two on the top right and the one in the lower center are part of a grouping or chain of Herkimer diamonds
that interlock. This formation is often a bridge that will collapse shortly after the pocket is
opened. Herkimer diamonds in a pocket will lock together and form bridges   or   groupings   in   beautiful,   delicate   formations. The Herkimer diamonds suspended in the mineral rich water gravitate together and grow1as individual pieces. Where two herkimer diamond crystals grow together,each creates a step-like pattern that is like a lock and key. They tightly interlock and maintain their unique shape rather than the pieces growing together to form a larger single piece.   When a bridge of interlocking herkimer diamonds are found, only one herkimer diamond will correctly connect and lock into another. Each of the pieces in the bridge will have their special place that formed 500 million years ago and only fell apart when the pocket was opened.   I have seen a few incredible bridges that miner friends found and glued back together. Dealers who glue the bridge or formation back together sell them for a premium. If you buy a double terminated,18 sided herkimer diamond look for the   small steps   or indentations on the surface where another piece locked into place. I worked to reassemble a bridge and it is much more challenging than one might think to put together. The herkimer diamonds in the lower left and right of the photo are called skeletals and sometimes incorrectly hoppers. They often form at the top of the pocket (the pocket is called a vug). Skeletals are very rare and have spaces inside and triangle shaped windows beneath or on thesurface. The step-like patterns mimic the edges and shape of the crystal. These step-like patterns are inside the crystal and hence the name skeletal. The   term   hopper applies to those crystals that are blocky,less well developed and without smooth outer faces. This amazing variety of quartz known as herkimer diamonds,was formed in pockets of dolmite rich rock.This allows the crystals to grow suspended in the mineral rich water rather than upon the host rock. The dolomite limestone, called dolostone, is the 3^rd hardest rock in the world. It is very labor intensive to mine. The brilliant facets of this unusually clear quartz is due to the unimpeded growth as it is suspended in the liquid. I know a number of people who treasure herkimerdiamonds above all other crystals. These crystals can have an incredible clarity which is why they were originally called diamonds. In the light they have a fire and glistening brilliance.
Herkimer diamonds are sought world wide because of their clarity, brilliance, and their well known metaphysicalproperties.
Why I Love This Stone: The physical and metaphysical effects of herkimer diamonds on our consciousness and body transcend our three dimensional world. This high frequency crystal raises the frequency of other crystals and this improves the effectiveness of other crystals in a bodywork session. Herkimer diamonds balance, align, and strengthen the energetic systems as they raise the frequency of the body. This opens, enlarges and strengthens the aura.
They remove the energy blockages and cellular memories of behaviors and outmoded belief systems, plus the associatedemotions that create fears and limitations.
Herkimer diamonds create an internal harmony that has to be experienced since there is no way one can understand what this really means. They create a state of spontaneity as one attunes with their essential being. There is a joy in truly being yourself.
Herkimer diamonds are a bridge to the light and they raise the awareness and consciousness of everyone.
Herkimer diamonds release blockages to facilitate a gentler and kinder communication.
Some use them to enhance dreaming and meditation.
Herkimer diamonds are known as the stone of
attunement because when two people each hold a
herkimer diamond and then trade the stone, they are connected to the other in profound ways. There are reports of
herkimer diamonds connecting people to the Angelic and the Ascended Master realms. Perhaps the best part about Herkimer diamonds is their continued use will facilitate the opening of all of your extrasensory gifts, especially clairvoyance and clairaudience. These amazing properties explain why so many people find Herkimer diamonds their favorite stone. Composition:Herkimer diamonds are believed to be about 500 million years old.
Herkimer diamond is a form of quartz and the chemical formula is Si02 , one silicon atom and two oxygen atoms. There area number of theories concerning their formation and inclusions.   Some theories are shown to be incorrect as research continues. There are at times black inclusions of carbon and this used to be called anthraxolite.   Evidence shows that the black carbon material is degraded petroleum and is actually a form of hydrocarbons. The word anthraxolite is no longer applicable when describing these black inclusions. They are hydrocarbons.
Physical Properties:Herkimer diamonds are rated with a hardness of and some say 7.5 on the Mohs scale. Herkimer diamond,as a type of quartz, has piezoelectric properties.This means if you apply mechanical pressure it creates an emission of electrical energy and the crystal will vibrate at a precise frequency until the pressure is released.   When you
release the pressure, the herkimer diamond generates another electric charge. If you rub a herkimer diamond, as it warms up, it emits energy.This is a natural phenomenon called the pyroelectric effect. Marcel Vogel scientifically showed that all quartz are programmable, one program can bestored per facet. This means the typical herkimer diamond can store up to18 commands or programs. This makes the small herkimer diamond a very powerful crystal.
Experiences:My herkimer diamond (in the upper left hand corner of the photo) was the second crystal I ever bought. As I was holding it in myeft hand, covered with my right hand, just loving it and feeling the energy, it felt as if it disappeared. I looked to see what happened and of course it was in my hand.   I was told that it imprinted its energy in me and myenergy imprinted in it. I was also told to take my herkimer diamond on my travels. It is my recorder and my experiences are imprinted in it.   My 3herkimer diamond has been around the world at least six times and in the presence of over 100 saints and masters. A gifted friend related how she could go into my herkimerdiamond and see vignettes of my life that were imprinted in it. We bring my personal herkimer diamond and the skeletal Herkimer diamondsto class. I show the students how clear my herkimerdiamond is in the first morning. At the end of the second day I show the students how my herkimerdiamond has absorbed enough discordant energy from the students and environment to turn dark. This is the power of herkimer diamonds. Herkimer diamonds are easily programmed with unconditional love and when given to one in need of this love, amazing things will happen to the recipient. The largest herkimer diamond I haveseen belonged to my friend who mined thousands of herkimer diamonds over the summer vacations. It was nine inches from end to end, almost
seven inches wide and over four inches thick. It lacked good clarity and it had some inclusions. It was an amazing piece to hold. Every year we bring some our herkimer diamonds to Mount Shasta. There we cleanse them in the sacred water from the headwaters of the Sacramento River.   In our experience, this is the best water to cleanse crystals. Both of the skeletals we bought were sold as smoky herkimer diamonds and when we soaked them in the water 95% of the darkness left. We also brought them into the pyramid at Mount Shasta four times to attune them to us and to the incredible energy inside.   This pyramid was channeled by Isis and built by Omaran and Antera as an exact scale model. It is built without any metal. One is also prohibited from wearing metal in the pyramid.   These sacred herkimer diamonds filled me with a sense of harmony. I was one with nature, the earth, humanity, and creation, to a degree previously unknown to me. The harmony was unlike anything I ever experienced because it was way beyond a state of well-being. I was and still am in a sacred state I can only describe as harmony, yet it was almost a state of euphoria.   Lastly, Kathy continually saw Saint Germain in the pyramid and he became one with her as we were removing our energy from our campsite just before we left.To her surprise and astonishment, Saint Germain spoke through Kathy and he said I am Saint Germain. It was an incredible moment of clarity that allowed Saint Germain to come through her.
Recommended Uses: Herkimer diamonds are an essential bodywork tool because they are incredibly effective.
Herkimer diamond is perfect for meditation because it raises your vibration, opens and balances the body, as it calms, centers, and promotes incredible clarity. It is also perfect to use in bodywork sessions for the same reasons. We find the students put them onthe third eye, throat, and other powerful chakras to calm and open the client. Because herkimer diamonds make the other crystals in the session more effective, the bodywork sessions are amazing. We hear many reports of astral travel by those on the table when the facilitator uses the herkimer diamonds.   Herkimer diamonds like all crystals work better in pairs.Having a client hold a herkimer diamond in each hand before a bodywork session attunes the client to the facilitator and the crystals to be used in the session. Essential Oils: Essential oils are powerful facilitators of healing.   Most essential oils require dilution with a carrier oil. Some are photosensitive, and there are very dangerous contraindications if clients are on medications, or if they have certain medical conditions. A full listing of safety issues andpossible   harmful   contraindications   can   be   found   on   our web site   at:
The properties of Herkimer diamondwith their extremely high frequency to balance, cleanse, facilitate the body healing, harmonize, love, protect, purify, remove stagnant energy, as it increases communication, psychic abilities, telepathy, and compassion work well with all essential oils.
The high spiritual vibration facilitates the use of any high quality organic essential oil. The herkimer diamonds are that incredible. Meditations:We brought our herkimer diamonds to Mount Shasta to cleanse them and be in that sacred environment. We camped in a remotelocation and we were surrounded by very tall, large trees. The only sounds we heard were the birds and the wind. Kathy began her meditation with her two Herkimer diamonds that were a gift from a painting channeler. She saw Saint Germain blessing us and our friend who was also meditating withus. She also saw her father who was asking her forgiveness. Kathy forgave
him and implored her father to live a more spiritual life. An hour slipped by quickly as a number of people made themselves known to Kathy. I began my meditation with my Herkimer diamond.The energy of being in Mount Shasta increased the energy of my herkimer diamond and I found myself working on my body. I was clearing historical physical and emotional issues. Soon, I was traveling around the world and again viewing the saints and masters who were so important in my life.   It was an incredible journey. This time we were in the pyramid built by Omaran and Antera. Kathy began with one of the skeletal herkimer diamonds at the crown of her head as she held her herkimer diamonds.Again Saint Germain was in our presence blessing us and those with us.   Kathy again saw a number of familiar people.   Saint Germain told her we need to move to the Mount Shasta area and Kathy responded that he needs to clear our way and makeit happen. We will see. I began my meditation with two small Herkimer diamonds.I felt the energy and I relaxed. The next thing I knew, I was back and I had no idea where I went. The only feeling I had was I felt wonderful and I was in astate of euphoria and complete relaxation. Miscellaneous: Herkimer diamonds are challenging to find in good quality and quantity.   We buy many of our Herkimer diamonds at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show from the Ace of Diamonds mine, owned by Mr. Ted Smith.Herkimer diamond is an aspect of the astrological signs of Cancer and Scorpio.Herkimer diamond is for the element of Water.Herkimer diamond is the birthstone for Libra and Scorpio.Herkimer diamond is said to be the original record keeper.
Herkimer diamond is associated with the 3rd eye, crown chakra and the three higher chakras above the head.
Herkimer diamond is associated with all the other crystals which is why they make the others more effective.Herkimer diamond is listed in the Spiritual Apothecary as an auric opener.Herkimer diamonds vibrate to the number 3.Arkansas Arkimer Diamonds vibrate to the number 9.Oaxaca Mexico Amethyst and the clear Oaxaccamer Diamonds vibrate to the number 9.West Virginia Odd Quartz Diamonds vibrate to the number 6. Pakistan Pakimer Diamonds vibrate to the number 7.Herkimer diamond is said to stimulate clairvoyance, clairsentience and clairaudience. Herkimer diamond is said to be stones of ascension by raising the body's vibration and boosting psychic abilities.

Herkimer diamond is said to calm, cleanse, harmonize, lessen addictions,remove blocked or discordant energy and toxins from the body. It is said toheal DNA/RNA imbalances,   protect   one   from   radiation,   and   release emotional and behavioral issues as it makes the body more supple. Disclaimer: The information in this paper regarding the physical andmetaphysical properties of crystals is intuitively derived.   It is in no way intended to diagnose or treat any form of medical, physical, emotional, mental, psychological, spiritual or other issues. Readers are advised to view this material as speculative in nature.    We recommend you determine through personal experience the power of crystals .
the source By Larry Bassett

World’s Largest Uncut Diamond Heads to Auction, a Break With Tradition

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Sep 2016 14:46:00 +0000

World’s Largest Uncut Diamond Heads to Auction, a Break With Tradition

The Lesedi La Rona. To get the broadest possible exposure for the gem, Lucara is working with Sotheby’s and Julius Baer, a Swiss bank that has wealthy clients around the world. Credit Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's

The world’s largest uncut diamond is about to be sold in a most uncommon way.

The tennis ball-size gem — a 1,109-carat white diamond discovered last fall in the Lucara mine in Botswana — will be up for bid Wednesday evening in a public auction at Sotheby’s in London.

Normally such stones are offered to a handful of sophisticated dealers in the diamond industry, who study the diamond for weeks to determine how many cut stones the rough one will yield. After figuring how much those stones will be worth, they submit a sealed bid to the mining company.

The Sotheby’s auction represents a break with tradition that aims to take advantage of wealthy individuals’ desire for trophy objects, whether homes, art or jewels. Often they buy in ways that allow them to make the purchases anonymously.

Large cut diamonds have fetched record prices on the block: In May, the Oppenheimer Blue, a 14.62-carat stone that was said to have been the favorite of the diamond millionaire Philip Oppenheimer — whose family once owned the diamond mining company De Beers — fetched a record $57.5 million at auction. A day earlier, a 15.38-carat pink cut diamond fetched a record price of $31.6 million.

“So why not stick with that strategy?” said William Lamb, chief executive of the Lucara Diamond Corporation, explaining the decision to sell a rough stone under an auctioneer’s hammer.

Underscoring the appeal of large stones, Lucara sold a rough diamond weighing 813 carats privately in May for $63 million, or a record of about $77,500 a carat.

But the diamond boom is a high-end phenomenon. Per-carat prices for smaller stones have been declining — yet another indication of how the differential in wealth between the 1 percent and everyone else is affecting buying patterns in the world’s economy.

Prices for 1-carat polished stones have declined 4 percent in the last year because of a strengthening dollar and economic challenges faced by some of the pivotal consuming economies, noted Anish Aggarwal, a partner at Gemdax, a strategic consulting firm in the diamond industry.

To get the broadest possible exposure for Lucara’s record-setting find, while still promising buyers anonymity if they desire it, Mr. Lamb has been working with Sotheby’s and Julius Baer, a Swiss bank that has many wealthy private clients around the world.

" The Lesedi La Rona. To get the broadest possible exposure for the gem, Lucara is working with Sotheby’s and Julius Baer, a Swiss bank that has wealthy clients around the world. Credit Donald Bowers/Getty Images for Sotheby's "///
The investment firm has invited some of its clients to view the stone. Mr. Lamb has also traveled to Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as London, Paris and Antwerp, Belgium. Stopping in Asia is a logical choice, considering that last year the Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau paid more than $48 million for a 12.03-carat stone for his 7-year-old daughter.

This is not the first time Sotheby’s has put a rough stone up for sale. In 2000, it put a purple-pink rough 12.49-carat diamond up for auction, but it failed to sell, according to Sotheby’s.

Whoever buys the Lucara stone will pay Sotheby’s a 12 percent fee, known as the buyer’s premium, on the hammer price for anything over the first $3 million, and a higher percentage of the first $3 million. Although there is a reserve price below which Lucara would not sell, that figure is not public. And of course, the hammer price does not include whatever the buyer would have to pay to have the stone cut, should he or she decide to do so.

Top auction houses are eager to have high-quality objects for sale because doing so burnishes their images and appeals to a wealthy global audience. That may mean Lucara has negotiated privately to receive some of the buyer’s premium.

“Sales agreements are uniquely structured depending on the scarcity, prestige and value of the object,” said Oliver Chen, head of retail and luxury goods at the financial services firm Cowen and Company, who noted that such terms are not necessarily disclosed.

Mr. Aggarwal views the market as having two tiers of buyers, similar to the car industry. “There are the elite high-performance cars and there are the average Joe cars, and they are two different markets,” he said. “There is not much evidence so far of the elite market going down.”

The Lucara diamond — named the Lesedi La Rona, or “our light” in Setswana, in a contest in which 11,000 people submitted entries — is not the biggest diamond ever found. That distinction goes to the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, discovered at a mine in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1905. It was named for Thomas Cullinan, the chairman of the mining company.

It was ultimately cut into nine stones, of which the largest was the 530-carat Cullinan I, or Great Star of Africa. Four years after the discovery, the Cullinan I and Cullinan II were presented to King Edward VII in a ceremony at Windsor Castle. Later, the Cullinan I was placed in the monarch’s scepter. The remaining stones are scattered throughout the royal collection.

Martin Rapaport, whose Rapaport Group is an important source of information on diamond pricing, said the decision to auction an uncut stone would prove to be a savvy one.

“If Lucara believed that the optimum way to maximize value was through consumer distribution, then the diamond would have been cut,” he said. “People with tremendous amounts of money are looking for a home for it. That is fueling the prices we are seeing for diamonds.”

A Real Rock of a Diamond Fails to Sell at Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Sep 2016 09:58:00 +0000

A Real Rock of a Diamond Fails to Sell at Auction

A 1,109-carat uncut diamond offered in an unusual public auction is still waiting for a buyer.

Offered for sale at a public auction on Wednesday evening at Sotheby’s in London, the stone — believed to be the largest still-uncut diamond in the world — failed to sell when it did not meet the minimum reserve, a price that was not specified.

The bidding stopped at $61 million. A fee of about 12 percent, known as the buyer’s premium, would have been added to that price, which would have brought the total cost to about $68 million.

“If you divide it by 1,109 carats, it is about $62,000 a carat,” said Henri Barguirdjian, president and chief executive of Graff Diamonds. “That is a very high price for a rough diamond, so obviously the reserve was too high.”

The stone was discovered last fall in the Lucara mine in Botswana. Selling it at auction was an uncommon move; such stones are normally offered to a handful of sophisticated dealers.

The auction was a gamble for both Lucara and Sotheby’s on the desire among the ultra-wealthy for such a totem of luxury. Britain’s vote last week to leave the European Union may have affected the bidding interest.

Potential bidders had a chance to examine the stone in advance. Evidently they did not think that the diamond, which would probably have been cut into smaller stones, justified a higher price.

The record price for a rough stone was set in May, when Lucara sold an 813-carat diamond at a private auction for $63 million, or about $77,500 a carat.

, important The original article link

How to Care for Platinum Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 20:33:00 +0000

WILL PLATINUM
JEWELRY SCRATCH?
All precious metals scratch, and platinum
is no exception. It is unique in that the
metal is only displaced, not lost. Have
your platinum jewelry polished if you are
interested in maintaining a high shine.
Look for a qualifi ed jeweler or platinum
trained bench worker for all adjustments,
resizing, polishing and cleaning.
WHERE SHOULD I KEEP MY
PLATINUM JEWELRY WHEN
I AM NOT WEARING IT?
Store pieces separately, in a jewelry box
or chamois bag so they don’t get scratched
by other items.
HOW DO I CARE FOR
PLATINUM JEWELRY?
Clean platinum in the same way you
clean other fi ne jewelry to maintain its
fi ne appearance and ensure that it lasts.
Either use a mild solution of soap and
warm water, and gently rub it with a soft
cloth, or buy a jewelry cleaning solution.
CAN I WEAR MY PLATINUM
RING WHILE DOING MANUAL
WORK SUCH AS CLEANING
OR GARDENING?
Remove your platinum jewelry when
undertaking heavy work. It is also advisable
not to handle bleach or harsh chemicals
when wearing your jewelry. Although they
won’t hurt the platinum, chemicals may
discolor diamonds or gemstones.
HOW WILL MY PLATINUM
RING LOOK YEARS FROM NOW?
All precious metals age with daily wear.
Over time, platinum develops a rich fi nish,
called a patina, but it doesn’t wear away.
Many people prefer the patina look, but you
can have your platinum jewelry polished
if you are interested in maintaining a
high shine. Look for a qualifi ed jeweler or
platinum trained bench worker for all
adjustments, resizing, polishing and cleaning

Platinum Engagement Ring Setting Styles

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 19:08:00 +0000

Platinum Engagement Ring Setting Styles
The ring’s setting design, paired with the shape and cut of the center gemstone, gives each ring its personality and style.
A durable precious metal like platinum is ideal to fi rmly secure the diamond over years of daily wear.
CENTER DIAMOND SETTING STYLES

PRONG/CLAW
A classic setting where the
stone is visible from all sides for
maximum brilliance. A classic
choice that appeals to a wide
variety of tastes

CATHEDRAL/CONTOUR
The stone is held high by raised
shoulders that help to protect
the diamond. Timeless, elegant,
for a stylish woman who favors
the traditional.

BEZEL
The stone is framed in platinum,
keeping it secure. Clean and
modern, especially suited to
someone with an active lifestyle.

TENSION
Pressure holds the stone fi rmly
in place allowing it to refl ect
maximum light. If she cherishes
the unique, this bold look will
be a favorite.

HALO
The stone is surrounded by a
band of platinum or diamond
melee, framing it to appear
like a halo. A classic vintage look
that appeals to the
modern woman.

SIDESTONE SETTING STYLES

BAR
A thin metal bar separates each
stone but leaves the sides open
to bring in the light.

CHANNEL
Stones are placed in a metal
channel and are visible but
not prominent. They form a
continuous fl ow with no metal
to separate them.

FLUSH
A low stress setting that secures
small stones inside tiny holes

PAV É
Often used to create a sparkling
look of diamonds, tiny metal
beads hold each stone in its
own discrete setting

BAGUETTE
A classic and timeless style,
baguette stones accent and
show off the center stone with
simple elegance

What to look for in a Platinum Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 18:06:00 +0000

The selection of an engagement ring is an important decision, for the most meaningful relationship of your life. The enduring,
never changing nature of platinum makes it the perfect choice for your bridal rings. However, there are four other important
components of the ring to consider.

PLATINUM ENGAGEMENT
RING SETTING STYLES:
Platinum is the most secure setting for diamonds
and precious gemstones. There are a variety of
setting styles, each lending the ring part of its
unique personality.
PLATINUM BAND STYLES:
There are a number of considerations in the
ring band, including various design elements and
fi nish options.

PLATINUM, DIAMONDS & GEMS:
When a ring contains diamonds or gemstones,
these will account for the greatest portion of the
ring’s cost. The size, color, clarity and cut (known
as the 4Cs) will directly affect the price and value
of the ring.
HALLMARK:
The hallmark identifi es the type and purity of the
metal used in the setting. All platinum jewelry
is hallmarked. There are a number of symbols
or marks that have to be displayed on a piece of
jewelry to indicate that it is high purity platinum.
Here are some examples of the platinum marks to
look for

Platinum vs White Gold & Other Metals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:32:00 +0000

Not all white metals are equal. Did you know that white gold is mined from the earth yellow and must be chemically treated to
appear white? White gold fades bringing forward its natural yellow tone, whereas platinum is naturally white and will never fade
or change color over time. The beauty you see in your ring today will remain forever because of platinum’s unchanging nature.

This chart outlines some of the additional factors to consider when making the choice

that’s best for you.

NATURALLY WHITE COLOR THAT DOESN’T FADE OR CHANGE COLOR .

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:17:00 +0000

Platinum Qualities

Celebrate your love with the enduring and timeless beauty of platinum. Platinum is a great
choice for engagement rings and wedding bands because it won’t change color or fade. It
symbolizes a relationship that will endure.
NATURALLY WHITE COLOR
THAT DOESN’T FADE OR CHANGE COLOR
Platinum, a naturally white metal, will never fade or change
color. White gold will yellow over time, requiring its rhodium
plating to be replaced every 12-18 months to maintain a
white appearance. The optimal setting for diamonds is
platinum, a naturally white metal that won’t ever refl ect
color into the diamond. Platinum enhances the brilliance
of diamonds and other gemstones.

90% TO 95% PURE
Typically 95% pure, platinum is one of the purest precious
metals. White gold, which is either 58% or 75% yellow gold,
is mixed with non-precious metals such as nickel, and then
rhodium plated to give it a white appearance. Platinum’s
purity makes it naturally hypoallergenic and ideal for those
with sensitive skin.

DURABLE ENOUGH FOR EVERYDAY WEAR
A platinum engagement ring and wedding band is
everlasting, perfect for a lifetime of everyday wear. Platinum’s
density makes platinum highly durable, so it doesn’t wear
away over time. White gold loses little slivers of metal with
every scratch, requiring many rings to be reinforced or
re-shanked to replace metal that has worn away.

HOLDS DIAMONDS SECURELY
Platinum’s strength and durability makes it the most
secure setting for diamonds and precious gemstones.
Platinum prongs offer better protection for diamonds,
which is why the world’s most signifi cant diamonds,
from the Hope Diamond to the 60-Carat Taylor-Burton
Diamond, are all set in platinum.

Dignity of Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:40:00 +0000

In 1986, in Vancouver, BC, our founder Doug Spence created the unique Spence Diamonds concept.
Bucking the conventional retail jeweller’s approach, Doug designed an innovative experience to
satisfy the unique desires and needs of each and every one of our guests.
The Spence experience that we take great pride in still consistently delivering today, 35+ years
later, is the sum of: 2500+ of the most sought after ring designs displayed in open showcases, top
quality diamonds, superior value through vertical integration and a refreshing approach to empow-
ering guests with education on diamonds. These components all come together to provide each
guest with an experience that is tailored for their unique needs for an exceptional value.
In a world of mass production and a fair amount of random chaos, it’s intoxicating to believe that
the desires of the individual human being still matter – and that someone is bearing down on these
details to design an experience that places the individual in the epicenter of a world of choices and
freedom to create their dream engagement ring to celebrate their love. A great strength of the
human race is our ability to celebrate our differences. Every human being is uniquely special, thus,
one’s cherished symbol of love should be too.
We are a team that is fanatical about the pride we take in one’s craft and contribution. This pas-
sion is what gives our business, the customer experience, and quality of our diamond jewellery
dignity. It is the minutiae of dignity that matters – the guest experience, the beauty of top quality
diamonds, and the pride of craftsmanship in each and every diamond ring – that have become the
backbone of the company. Providing our guests with a quality experience for an exceptional value

is the lifeblood fuelling our purpose. From our diamond buying office in Antwerp, Belgium, to our
manufacturing studio in Vancouver, BC to our inviting showrooms across Canada, our business
model is designed with the focus of eliminating middlemen profit to then pass along these savings
to our clients. We respect our guests’ hard-earned dollars, and believe in the morality of providing
superior value for an exceptional product.
But more than just the eternal quest for dignity, quality and value, there seems to be something
else in it for the Spence team, something important and profound that can be succinctly articu-
lated as: uplifting people to achieve their dreams. Uplifting our guests to create their one-of-a-kind
dream engagement ring is our purpose. Our reason for being.
By crafting an experience that places our guests at the center of every decision we make, every ac
-
tion we take, our guests in turn choose to honor Spence with their business. By earning our guests
business, we create the foundation for each of us to grow, which creates opportunities for our
people and our business to grow. Our higher, collective purpose is not attainable without treating
each of our clients and our fellow team members as whole complete people. Economic prosperity
is an outcome of acting on our engrained quest to live our ideal lives.
It is a courageous theory summarized in what we call “living a life you love”: giving business a
purpose that goes beyond profit, and reinvesting to improve the lives of the team members, guests
and families the Spence organization connects with.

Lion Capital to acquire Spence Diamonds .usa

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:29:00 +0000

Lion Capital LLP (“Lion Capital”), a consumer‐focused specialis
t investment firm,
today announced that it has ente
red into a definitive agreement
to acquire
Spence Diamonds (“Spence"), the
leading direct seller of custom
‐made
engagement rings in Canada. Lion Capital is partnering with IVE
ST Consumer
Partners, a Vancouver‐based retail investor and operator, who w
ill bring
seasoned operating executives George Jones and Jim Schneider to
lead the
business. IVEST will make a minor
ity investment in Spence, as w
ill current CEO
Sean Jones, who will also remain on the board. The terms of the
transaction were
not disclosed.
Founded in 1978, Spence Diamonds carved out a distinctive posit
ion within the
retail jewellery industry by giving its customers a unique and
personalised
purchasing experience at an exceptional value. By empowering c
ustomers with
education on diamonds from highl
y trained sales consultants and
delivering
quality stones at a superior value through vertical integration
, Spence has
maintained a leadership position in the category for over 30 ye
ars. The company
operates seven showrooms across Canada, each of which showcase
over 2,500 of
the most sought after ring designs. Spence has generated excep
tional financial
performance over the past decade
, supported by fundamentals tha
t are expected
to continue as Spence extends its geographic reach.
Eric Lindberg, Partner of Lion Capital said:
“Sean and his team have done an outstanding job of successfully establishing the Spence franchise.
We look forward to supporting the continued growth of this distinctive retailer, which we believe delivers a unique proposition within the Canadian jewellery sector.
Lion’s deep expertise in successfully driving the rollout of strong branded retail concepts will be critical to supporting Spence’s continued growth through the next phase of its development in new markets.”
Sean Jones, CEO of Spence Diamonds said: "I could not be more pleased about having Lion Capital lead Spence Diamonds in its next chapter of growth. By building our business, we will be able to create many more opportunities to support our customers and team members in achieving their dreams. I thank every member of the Spence team for their ongoing commitment to excellence and the difference they makes in people'slives."

Buying a Diamond Engagement Ring What You Need to Know .

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:01:00 +0000

When deciding to get engaged, you’ll surely have a lot running through your
mind, but putting yourself into debt by buying an overpriced engagement ring
shouldn’t be one of them.
Here’s some advice so that you can buy a diamond
engagement ring without breaking the bank.

The Diamond as an Investment
Sit down at any jewelry counter and you’ll be sure to hear a sales
pitch about
the highest quality diamonds being a good investment. It’s true that diamonds
are a precious commodity and that they may increase in value over time, but
seriously, no one should be buying an engagement ring as a way to diversify
their portfol
io. Diamond engagement rings shouldn’t be a couple’s emergency
relief   fund,   so   focus   your   finances   on   the   present   and   think   about   the
diamond’s price today.
How much should I spend?
Decide on your budget
before heading out to the jewelry store, where you put
yourself under the pressure of sales people and special offers. Remember that
you aren’t out to impress the jeweler (who you’ve never even met before) or
anyone   els
e   with   the   price   of   your   engagement   ring.   Stay   within   your
parameters and you’ll keep yourself out of debt.

Should we buy the ring together?
Relationship statistics show that more than half of men surprise their loved
one with a diamond engagement ring dur
ing their proposal. This means that
the majority of men get no input if size, cut, and cost are important to her. By
bringing her along to the check out rings, you can get a better picture of the
finances behind the ring and you’ll know that she will get t
he engagement ring
she truly wants.
How much do diamond engagement rings cost?
There are two major factors which contribute to the cost of a diamond: a
ratings system called the “Four Cs” and whether or not the diamond is
ASG/GIA certified. The Four Cs ref
ers to the diamond’s color, cut, clarity, and
carat size. As a general rule, as a diamond increases in size and clarity, and
decreases in color, the price of the diamond rises. Diamonds that are ASG/GIA
certified are also more expensive. Most jewelry store
s follow this pricing
structure:
Quarter carat or less diamond, $125 to $500 set in 14 carat gold
.3 to half carat diamond, $750 to $1,000 set in 18 carat gold or platinum,
possibly more if ASG/GIA certified
For diamonds up to .75 carat, or smaller ASG/GIA certified stones,
$1,000-$2,000
For diamonds up to 1 carat, $2,000 to $3,500, set in 14 carat gold
High quality 1 carat diamond, $4,000 or more, set in 18 carat gold or
platinum
A diamond m
ay last forever, but if you aren't in the financial position to afford
a big expensive ring you can always start out small and upgrade later.

Tips for Saving Money on a Ring
Here are some alternatives to buying your ring from an expensive
jeweler:
Use a family ring for your engagement
Buy a ring from an antique shop
Stunning high quality cubic
zirconia
Pawn shops or classified ads
Consider an alternative stone to a diamond
Purchase a setting using several smaller stones instead of one large
stone

Which countries do diamonds come from?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 16:02:00 +0000

Diamonds were first discovered in India hundreds of years
ago, but there are now more t
han twenty countries that
produce and sell diamonds.
Today, more diamonds are
mined in Australia than any other country in the world.
Most of these diamonds are found in the Kimberley area.

How are diamonds made?
Diamonds are crystals whic
h are formed deep inside the
earth. This happens more than
150 kilometres below the
ground. Here, it is very
hot indeed and rocks are being
very strongly squeezed from above.

When the diamond crystals are
found, they look quite dull
and smooth.

Shopping for a Diamond USa

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 15:53:00 +0000

Here are a few basic facts about diamonds that may help you as you shop
for
your stone
:
There are Four C's to consider when looking at a diamond:
CLARITY,
COLOR, CUT, CARAT WEIGHT
A note on CUT:
Almost all certified stones will be CUT with the correct dimensions, symmetry
etc., so rarely is CUT a consideration unless a diamond is cut extreme
ly deep or shallow. Most reputable
jewelers avoid such diamonds.
A note on CARAT WEIGHT and SIZE:
The price and value of a diamond is obviously determined by how big it is, so SIZE is a factor in price.
However, supply and demand come in to play a bit her
e. Most consumers like "round" numbers. Therefore,
stones that are close to, or weigh exactly a carat (100 points = 1 carat; 50 points = 1/2 carat; 25 points = 1/4
carat etc.) are in higher demand. It is often possible to save some money by considering a s
tone that is just out
of the popular range of sizes. For example, a 90
-
93 point diamond can cost several hundred dollars less than
a 95
-
100 point diamond, even though the size difference to the naked eye is negligible
-
a matter of millimeters
in diameter
difference.
A note on COLOR:
The color of the diamond is basically how "white" a diamond shines. The term "colorless" refers to the high end
of the color chart, which is simply organized alphabetically, starting with the letter D. So a D color is the
"wh
itest" or most "colorless" on the chart. The difference between a D or an E or an F is almost indiscernible to
most people; all three are bright white stones. Next on the color chart are G, H, and I colored stones. These
are considered "near
-
colorless" sto
nes. What this means is that they are not quite as white as the DEF stones
at the high end of the chart. However, these stones are much more affordable than DEF stones and thus a
large majority of the stones I have sold are in the GHI range. The next
groups of stones are
J and K color. At
this point in the color spectrum most people can begin to see a faint hue of yellow in the diamond. J color is
less noticeable than K or even L color, which definitely show color.

A note on J color stones (they can be a
bargain):
A J color diamond can be a real bargain if set in a yellow gold mounting. The hint of color in a J diamond is
only faint and can be noticed most clearly when placed beside a diamond of lets say D, E, or F color. Since
most people wearing a diamo
nd are not showing it on their hand next to another diamond, a J color diamond
by itself can be a very beautiful stone. And since the pricing of a J
-
color stone is much more affordable, if you
are looking to set the stone in a yellow
-
gold mounting, the col
or of the J stone is practically negated by the
shine and tone of the yellow gold it is set in. Setting a J
-
color stone in a white gold or platinum mounting makes
the faint yellow color of the diamond more noticeable.
A note on CLARITY:
When a laboratory
such as the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) grades a stone for certification, they are
doing so by viewing the stone through 10X power magnification. In other words, although imperfections in
CLARITY may be visible through the microscope, that doesn
't necessarily mean they are visible with the naked
eye.
The clarity of a diamond basically refers to how "clean" the diamond is from natural "imperfections" which
occur in the natural process of the diamond's formation in the earth. Diamonds are formed
from carbon and
pressure. As the diamond is formed, there are natural "inclusions" which occur in the process. The fewer of
these "inclusions" there are, the more valuable a diamond is. In other words, the more light that can shine on
and throughout the di
amond and its facets, the more brilliance, shine and fire the diamond will have. The
natural inclusions get in the way of the light shining in and lessen the diamond's brilliance.
There are basically two kinds of "flaws" or "imperfections" in a diamond:
carbon and natural inclusions. Carbon
is black in color and many diamonds still have this unformed carbon in them. Under magnification, these
imperfections look like buckshot or specks of black pepper. They are unsightly; I avoid selling diamonds with
carb
on in them. On larger diamonds, this carbon can be visi
ble to the naked eye. I suggest
avoiding a diamond
with carbon in it.
The other kinds of "imperfections" or "inclusions" take the form of what look like bubbles, clouds, or fissures
(lines). Too many of these simply "cloud up" the clarity of the diamond and make it look "foggy."

The CLARITY scale begins with "Flawless." Th
ese diamonds are perfect, rare and ridiculously expensive.
The scale then moves to "Very Very Slightly Included" with a "1" and a "2" differentiation. These stones are
near
-
perfect
and also very expensive, but readily available if you are willing to pay the price. Next is "VS1" and
"VS2": "Very Slightly Included."
These stones are also on the high end of the cost spectrum but getting close to
more affordable, but expensive. If you looked at any of these diamonds with the naked eye, I would guess that
you wo
uld not be able to see any noticeable flaw. These are very nice stones.
Next on the CLARITY
scale is "Slightly Included 1" (SI 1) and "Slightly Included 2" (SI 2). The "imperfections"
on these stones can be noticeable with the naked eye if they are present near the surface of the diamond or on
the diamond's TABLE, which is the flat, clear window
area on the center of the stone. On the other hand, some
SI 1 and even a few SI 2 stones can have imperfections around the edges where the facets of the stones are,
or near the bottom of the stone. In these stones, the imperfections can be "hidden" by the
natural sparkle of the
facets or even sometimes under a prong of the ring's setting. SI 2 stones tend to have more noticeable flaws,
but often a very good value can be found in an SI 1 CLARITY diamond.
In summary, when looking at a diamond price is an obvious consideration. Since most people buying a
stone are on some sort of budget or have a "max" price they are t
rying to stay under, here is what I tell
my customers:
Once you decide on the size you want, price is determined by a combination of COLOR and CLARITY.
To stay in an affordable mid
-
range of price (let's say for a 1 carat diamond the mid
-
range is $4,500
-
$5,500 dollars) you can go with a high color diamond (DEF) and lower CLARITY (SI 1 of SI 2)) or a high
CLARITY diamond (VS1 or VS2) and lower COLOR (J of K). If money is not object you can go high
CLARITY and high COLOR or if money is tight you can settle
for lower COLOR and lower CLARITY
stone

Solidarity with African people

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 15:34:00 +0000

The African People’s Solidarity Committee is a white organization that
was formed by the African People’s Socialist Party and works under its
leadership. We go into the white community as the voice of the
oppressed out of the mouths of the oppressor.
This is a strategic function, a strategic relationship. The African
Liberation Movement needed to win allies to their struggle from behind
the enemy lines. We are there to break the assumed unity that this
government expects us to have with its imperial policies that it enacts
in our name.
We are there to build a movement of white people who can see our
future in the future of African people, and the Iraqi people and
Palestinians, Lebanese, Mexicans, Indigenous and Venezuelan and
everyone else struggling for their liberation.
This year we are building African People’s Solidarity Day, with events
in Philadelphia, Boston, Oakland and St. Petersburg. African People’s
Solidarity Day will feature speakers from all over the African world to
educate us about the real history, the real possibilities for the future.
These are events to tell this truth that we are speaking here on these
pages. To urge others like ourselves to look at the bitter reality of the
crimes and violence committed by us directly or in our name against
African people and the peoples of the world for centuries, so that we
could enjoy the lives we so take for granted.
Through African People’s Solidarity Day we can begin to talk about
reparations to African people. Not just from the government or from
corporations but from white people ourselves. Support for African
reparations is a stand to begin to rectify the wrongs done to African
people, to build a principled relationship with African people. This is
the process by which we can join humanity instead of policing it,
exploiting it and attacking it for our own benefit.
As part of the stand of reparations you can return your diamonds to
African people to be used as resources to develop Africa in their own
interest. Reverse the flow of the past 500 years. Send the diamonds
back. This is the real certification process—liberated diamonds in the
hands of African people who are calling on us to stand in solidarity.
This is not about charity. This is not about movie stars having babies
in Africa or rock stars having concerts for Africa. This is the united

African people themselves working to liberate their country and rebuild
it brick by brick.
This is our chance to join humanity’s forward motion and be part of
building a new world in which peace and mutual respect among all the
human family can finally become possible.
For more information on the African People’s Solidarity Committee see
www.apscuhuru.org
or call 215-387-0919 or 727-894-6997.
Uhuru!
Acknowledgements:
Janine Farrell Roberts, author of
Blood Stained Diamonds
The transcript of “The Diamond Empire,” PBS Frontline program, 1994
Cheryl Sanchez, “African diamonds/Jewish/European Business:
Patterns of Inequality”
Omali Yeshitela,
One Africa! One Nation!
www.burningspearuhuru.com
Omali Yeshitela,
The Road to Socialism is Painted Black
Penny Hess,
Overturning the Culture of Violence
www.burningspearuhuru.com

The movement to unite and liberate Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 15:32:00 +0000

The African People’s Socialist Party, along with African people in Africa
and throughout the world, is building the African Socialist
International.
African people are Africans wherever they have been dispersed by
slavery and colonialism.
The problem is not racism in the U.S. It’s not bad ideas in our heads
that supposedly can be eradicated by a weekend workshop. The
oppression of African people in the U.S. is political and economic. It’s
colonialism and neocolonialism for African people here, just as it is in
Congo, South Africa and Kenya.
African people were brought to this stolen land as a commodity! The
primary commodity, the primitive accumulation. Before the diamonds,
before the rubber, before the bauxite, oil and coltan, it was the human
beings themselves! There were no Dow or NASDAQ reports then but
the stock market started with African people in chains on sale on every
Market Street in every town in the U.S.
There are thousands of African people from the era of enslavement
buried under the high-rise buildings of Wall Street. What could be
more explicit than that? The enormous weight of our lifestyle rests on
the backs of their worn and beaten bodies.
America is built on the backs of African people. African people are not
U.S. citizens and never have been. They have been bought and sold
and rounded up like cattle, leased and worked to death. They have
been lynched and scapegoated and degraded. Every time they
amassed a bit of money, acquired skills or started a successful

businesses, which was quite often, they were attacked and burned out
and shot, or pushed out, urban renewed and gentrified.
They were granted the nominal right to vote in 1965, a century after
the slavery system was supposed to have ended. Less than 35 years
later the vote was taken away by the Bush election of 2000.
One in every three African men of childbearing age is tied to the prison
system in the U.S. That has nothing to do with crime. The crime is
what we have been talking about on these pages, and this is just the
tip of the iceberg. The real criminals don’t go to prison or face the
death penalty. At least not yet.
Africa and everything in it and everything that has been taken out of it
for the past 500 years is the birthright of every African person
anywhere in the world.
The African Socialist International is an organization of African people
from throughout Africa and all over the world. Its mission is to unite all
of Africa and all of the African people and to liberate Africa for the
benefit of its people. Nothing could be more right or more just. Africa
is not going to be anybody’s hunting ground anymore—not for
diamonds or lions or rubber or human beings.
Chairman Omali Yeshitela who is leading the effort to build the African
Socialist International put it this way:
“We are Africans. We place our future in Africa. The future of all black
people on earth lies in Africa! Not in England, not in America, not in
the Caribbean! You may end up staying there, but if you are going to
be free, it will be because Africa is free and united and in our control...
“We need to have power and we can only have that power if we have
Africa. I’m saying that if we are going to feed our babies, then we’ve
got to regain our resources that white power is taking to feed its
babies. They take the birthright of our children and feed their babies.
“We are socialists and we are Africans, and Africa’s going to be free.
As long as we are conscious and we can draw breath, every waking
moment must be about how we can free Africa and how we can free
our people!”

Africa and all its resources belong to African people everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 15:31:00 +0000

century Belgian genocide of African people in Congo,
an observer wrote, “This rubber traffic is steeped in blood, and if the
[Africans] were to rise up and sweep every white person on the Upper
Congo into eternity, there would still be left a fearful balance to their
credit.”
Across the globe oppressed peoples are again rising up and
challenging the U.S. and imperialist control of their resources and the
accompanying slaughter and poverty. This is the basis for the crisis of
imperialism that we see all around us.
It’s simple. People are not going to just sit back and watch the
resources that ought to be feeding their children and raising their
miserable standard of living going to North America and Europe for our
benefit. They want their diamonds back. They want their oil back. They
want their land and culture, and their sovereignty to determine their
own lives and destinies back.
African people want reparations for centuries of stolen labor and for
the crimes of genocide and terrorism against them. They want U.S.
and Western imperialism out. They want the U.S. military, the CIA,
proxy armies and neocolonial puppets out of their land and out of their
lives. They want peace without the interference of any thieving,
ravaging force.
The white population of the world sits on the pedestal of their
suffering, but the oppressed peoples are going to turn this equation
around now. It’s a life and death question. They will be free by any
means necessary, just as they were enslaved and colonized by every
means possible. The terror represented by the U.S. and the West
won’t just go away. It has to be destroyed. There has to be the
violence of the just to end the violence of the oppressor, or the people
will not survive. This is the struggle for national liberation.
Any progressive minded white person ought to support national
liberation for oppressed peoples. We had better, because there will be
no peace ever on this planet until the oppressed peoples win their
liberation from the grip of imperialist power.
The resistance in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq represent the future.
The longevity of Fidel and the Cuban revolution despite ongoing U.S.
attacks represent the future. The swagger and confidence of Hugo
Chavez who identifies himself as African and indigenous in Venezuela
represents the future. The power and determination of Omali Yeshitela
as he organizes African people around the world to unite their
homeland and come back for what is theirs represents the future.
For half a millennium Africa has been a bottomless pit of wealth and
resources for us, for our world, our dreams, our opportunity to climb
the ladder of success. Now the growing movement for African
liberation will make the aspirations of African people a reality.

Bany Israel’s bloody West African diamond trade

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 15:29:00 +0000

Diamonds are Israel’s second largest industry bringing in at least $13
billion. Israel buys half of the world’s rough diamonds, two-thirds of
which then go to the U.S.
Before the 2001 assassination of Congolese neocolonial leader Laurent
Kabila, Israeli diamond traders had brokered an exclusive deal with
Congo for their diamonds. It was similar to the deal Tempelsman had
made with Mobutu 40 years earlier.
The deal was worth $600 million worth of diamonds for the Israelis in
return for arming and military training for Kabila’s troops. Even
without this monopoly, certain firms in Israel still control 50 percent of
Congo’s diamonds exports, or a billion dollars worth.
Control of the trade in African diamonds may have played an
underlying role in the recent deadly Israeli war against the people of
Lebanon as well.
Lebanon also is said to have its fingers in the diamond trade,
importing rough diamonds from Congo. More than 100,000 Lebanese
live in Sierra Leone, and according to reports, are the “market-
dominant minority” in the alluvial diamond trade of that country.
In Sierra Leone, Lebanese traders control the majority of diamond
buying shops, allegedly also smuggling diamonds out of the country off
the books.
According to an article by J. Peter Pham of World Defense Review,
profits from some of these smuggled diamonds go to the Hezbollah
resistance forces. We don’t know if that is true or simply allegations of
U.S. and Israeli backed journalists to justify Israel’s deadly attacks.
One thing is clear though. African resources are used as a feeding
ground by just about everyone in the world except African people
themselves. As the white world and others get richer and richer off of
the bounty of Africa, African people face genocide and ever deepening
poverty.
The African People’s Socialist Party and African people around the
world intend to change that.

Follow the money

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:32:00 +0000

Today the DeBeers cartel still controls at least 80 percent of the world
diamond trade. As we see, the other 20 percent are the ones they call
the “blood” diamonds.
It would be very difficult to calculate the total wealth of DeBeers
because of its worldwide holdings on a multitude of fronts. The billions
of dollars of wealth from the diamond industry benefit the white

population as a whole. The diamond trade makes huge profits in the
U.S., Israel and Belgium and South Africa with hundreds of thousands
of lucrative jobs and spin-off businesses for white people.
The former British colony of India, on the other hand, has more than a
half million diamond workers, but the working people do not profit
from it. Seventy percent of the world’s diamonds set in jewelry are cut
and polished in India, a $3.3 billion industry.
Most of the Indian workforce is comprised of farm boys who earn tiny
wages at small diamond-cutting sweatshops in the most impoverished
sections of Mumbai, Surat and Ahmadabad. Almost 30 percent of this
jewelry is imported to the U.S., which then turns them over for $11
billion annual profit.
The Oppenheimers are a Jewish family and most of the worldwide
tentacles of the DeBeers cartel, including the cutting, polishing and
retail fronts of the diamond industry are controlled by Jewish sub-firms
of DeBeers. In Europe everything pertaining to gems and diamonds
has been in the hands of Jews since the middle ages.
Diamond dealers the world over, regardless of religion, are called by
the Hebrew term Yahalom Manin (Yahalom means diamond in
Hebrew). Rough diamonds are shipped from the mines to the Jewish
areas of Antwerp or to Israel to be cut and polished.
In New York the billion dollar diamond trade is centered around 47
th
Street where 25,000 mostly Hasidic Jews are selling, cutting, polishing
and marketing diamonds—from the most expensive to the cheapest
mail order jewelry. Many of these diamond workers live in the Hasidic
community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where they work with the
police to gentrify the area at the expense of the African community.
Despite the fact that the diamond trade is supposedly based on Jewish
brotherhood, it remains a cutthroat process with no loyalty to other
Jewish people when it comes to making money. During the second
world war the Oppenheimers sold industrial diamonds, needed for
planes and armaments, to both sides—Nazi Germany and the U.S.
government.
Today, the Israeli diamond industry, built after Israel seized Palestine
as a colonial power, is doing everything it can to put the Jewish
diamond traders in Belgium out of business.

Diamonds wars of Sierra Leone A British colony since the late 18 th

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:31:00 +0000

century, Sierra Leone is rich in
coffee, bauxite and diamonds, which were found there in 1930. By
1937 one million carats had been extracted and exported to Europe.
According to a recent study by the Canadian government, between

1937 and 1996 $15 billion worth of diamonds have been exported and
sold from Sierra Leone. Yet the people of Sierra Leone live on about 30
cents a day.
The DeBeers group of diamond companies have controlled the
diamond interests of Sierra Leone since 1935. Sierra Leone was
granted nominal independence in 1961. Ten years later Sierra Leone
nationalized the diamond mines—again nominally. Since DeBeers
controls the world diamond market, the national diamond industry of
Sierra Leone still had to sell its diamonds through DeBeers.
Since the 1970s rebel armies, most of them backed by the U.S. or
other European powers, have fought for control of Sierra Leone. Since
the 1990s the rebel armies have inflicted terroristic violence against
the people of Sierra Leone, cutting off limbs, raping women, killing and
displacing thousands and forcing tens of thousand of young children to
fight as soldiers.
During this period the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) took over
some of the diamond mines and used smuggled diamonds to fund their
violence. Although the actions of the RUF are no different than the
hundred year legacy of DeBeers’ violence against African people,
DeBeers calls these the “blood” diamonds—i.e., diamonds they can’t
control.
In the end who profited from the so-called blood diamonds?
The U.S. most certainly did. It enabled them to flood the diamond
market and to poke holes in the long-standing diamond monopoly held
by DeBeers, which even the U.S. had never successfully controlled. It
destabilized the entire West Africa region, making it difficult for any
genuinely progressive force to rise up in the interest of the people. The
diamond wars left West Africa wide open for another long orgy of
Western expropriation of all of Africa’s vast resources.

White power in black face

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:30:00 +0000

White power in black face
Much is being written these days about “corruption” among the African
ruling elite being the cause of Africa’s problems today.
The reality is that the African politicians are simply doing what they
were set up to do—maintain the interests of the imperialist financial
interests regardless of the cost to the people. These are the
neocolonialists and they are paid quite well.
After the murder of Patrice Lumumba, Tempelsman secured a diamond
deal with Congo that was extremely lucrative for both the U.S. and
DeBeers. It also allowed him to end up with control of several
profitable mines while giving some of the biggest, most valuable
diamonds in the world to Joseph Mobutu, the pliable new puppet who
would brutally do the bidding of U.S. imperialism in Congo for the next
30 years.
Despite the fact that Lumumba was only in power three months, his
leadership had sparked the enthusiasm of the masses of the people
and the confidence that they could begin to control their own destiny
as African people on their own land.
For many years following the assassination of Lumumba, Congo
(known as Zaire under Mobutu) was in a state of mass rebellion. Well-
organized resistance fighters held liberated territory in some areas,
prompting Che Guevara to take a brigade of Cuban revolutionaries to
join the struggle there.
It took all of Mobutu’s military force and a reign of terror to subdue the
peoples’ resistance. Mobutu’s forces were trained, armed and paid by
the U.S., with the CIA operating both openly and covertly throughout
the country, often with its own mercenary forces.
As a U.S. puppet, Mobutu was vicious to those who challenged him. He
was known to gouge out the eyes of opposition leaders or cut off their

limbs while they were still alive. He tortured and locked up hundreds of
thousands of African working people and students.
Mobutu was paid well for his terror, raiding the coffers of the country
and amassing nearly $5 billion, which he stashed in Swiss banks, while
the African masses starved and suffered. The fact that the Western
powers would allow Mobutu to expropriate $5 billion gives us an
inkling of how much the resources of the Congo are worth to
imperialism.
Neocolonialism is the way that the U.S. keeps its control over the
resources of the world while hiding behind handpicked leaders from
the colonial people.
When Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa, signaling
the end of the apartheid era, he was heralded by the media as a
beacon of justice.
To the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement it was
always clear that Mandela was nothing but another neocolonial puppet
working for the interests of the imperial powers.
Today, 12 years after the end of apartheid in South Africa, 40 percent
of Africans in the cities are unemployed and 70 percent in rural areas.
Sixty-one percent now live below the poverty level, while only about
one percent of whites live in poverty. Ninety-six percent of arable
commercial land is still in the hands of white farmers.
It should be no surprise that as a new movie called “Blood Diamond” is
scheduled to open in the winter of 2006, Mandela recently came out
with a public statement in support of DeBeers. Mandela stated that the
diamond industry is “good for South Africa.”
When DeBeers Chairman Harry Oppenheimer died in 2000 and the
reigns were passed to his son Nicky, Mandela wrote Harry’s obituary in
Time
Magazine, hailing Oppenheimer as “monumentally instrumental
in helping our country become the economic leader it is today.”

Diamonds and the assassination of Patrice Lumumba

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:29:00 +0000

A major player immediately involved in the coup attempts against
Nkrumah was CIA operative and DeBeers emissary Maurice
Tempelsman (who was romantically linked with Jacqueline Kennedy
Onassis until her death and is today linked with the former Secretary
of State Madeline Albright).
Following the first unsuccessful coup attempt against Nkrumah, the
popular young anti-colonial leader Patrice Lumumba was elected prime
minister in Congo. Like Nkrumah, Lumumba was committed to his
promise that the resources of Congo would benefit the workers and
peasants.
During this period Congo was very important to DeBeers, because a
third of the world’s known diamond supply was located there. This was
during the Cold War and the U.S. was stockpiling industrial diamonds
needed for airplanes and armaments.
The U.S. could not deal directly with DeBeers because they had
indicted the diamond cartel during the second world war for violating
U.S. anti-trust laws. Maurice Tempelsman became the middleman for
DeBeers, supplying millions of dollars worth of diamonds to the U.S.
from Congolese mines on the behalf of DeBeers.

As soon as the courageous and much-loved Lumumba took office in
1960 he made it clear that Congo’s resources were for African people.
Tempelsman immediately began working under the Kennedy
administration to plot the U.S. and Belgian assassination of Lumumba
which took place in January 1961, just months after his election.

DeBeers and the U.S.-backed defeat of African liberation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:28:00 +0000

In the 1960s the colonized world rose up to challenge the fact that the
Western powers had for hundreds of years built themselves with the
resources of nonwhite people for the benefit of white society. Because
of this plunder the average white family in Europe, North America,
Africa or Australia, who may not be as rich or powerful as the
Rockefellers could nevertheless count on this process to enjoy by far
the highest standard of living for working people in the world.
The sixties are remembered for the valiant struggle of the Vietnamese
people who fought for generations to control their own country, first
defeating France and then sending the U.S. out with their tails
between their legs.
In the U.S. the Black Power Movement shook this system to its very
foundations with the demand for more than civil rights. It was a
revolutionary demand for black political and economic power and
African liberation. On the continent of Africa itself the call for a unified
and liberated Africa gave hope to the suffering masses.
In the late 1950s Kwame Nkrumah became the first elected president
of Ghana. With the supposed ousting of British colonial control,
Nkrumah pursued his ideals of attempting to eliminate all the
In Ghana, as in most of colonial Africa, centuries of expropriation by
colonial powers left the nominally independent nations without an
industrial infrastructure to process those resources. Nkrumah began to
talk about nationalizing Ghana’s resources and beginning to build its
own production capabilities. In the few short years of his power he
made enormous strides in this direction.
In the early sixties Nkrumah decided to begin to market Ghana’s
diamonds independently, rather than through the process demanded
by the DeBeers cartel. Profits from diamond sales could help develop
the country. Nkrumah also did not want to sell diamonds to the
company behind the apartheid regime of South Africa. Not long after
Nkrumah began taking steps towards this end the U.S. attempted a
failed coup against him. In 1966 the U.S. was finally successful in
ousting Nkrumah and he died in exile.

Africa still under colonial conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:27:00 +0000

Life for African diamond workers today has changed very little. In the
past few years DeBeers has slashed the wages of South African
mineworkers. They now live in the shanty towns that have burgeoned
in South Africa since the fall of the apartheid system and the rise of
neocolonialism, the system in which white imperialist power installs
indigenous puppets as its front in Africa and other former colonies.
African men are still stuffed into compounds and ramshackle huts near
the mines, while African women who work as cleaners must stay in the
women’s barracks. If a husband and wife are found sleeping together
they are fired.
In Namibia the unionized diamond workers live in abject poverty in
hovels without running water, electricity, health care or education for
their children. The men live in compounds separated from their
families. They are given bunk beds without mattresses to sleep in and
are exposed to radiation and other health hazards.
In the past century since the genocidal Belgian colonialism in Congo,
African people have been subjected to ongoing war, bloodshed and
powerlessness. The poverty is so severe that most African people have
nothing to eat for days at a time.
Yet Congo alone holds immeasurable wealth from diamonds, coltan
and a wide variety of other valuable minerals essential to the daily
functioning of the capitalist world. By all rights, every single resident
of the Congo should enjoy the highest standard of living in the world.
Every child should grow up in a prosperous family with a lovely house,
with access to the highest quality education and the best possible
health care.
In the past 10 years proxy wars financed and backed by the U.S.,
other imperialist powers, including DeBeers, have ravaged the Congo
to get or maintain control of those bountiful resources whose benefits
never reach the average African person.
Five million people in the Congo have been slaughtered in those wars
so that life in the white world can go on in peaceful, prosperous, hi-
tech tranquility. No one in America protests this new generation of
genocide in the Congo. No one even talks about it.
Most of Africa is blessed with this profuse wealth of natural resources.
Yet half the people in diamond rich West Africa live on less than a
dollar a day. It has the lowest life expectancy at birth in the world—in
10 countries in Africa the life expectancy is 46 years. Sierra Leone has
the highest infant mortality rate in the world with 284 deaths per
every thousand live births.

The DeBeers Diamond Cartel—an empire inside of imperialism

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:26:00 +0000

Cecil Rhodes named his Kimberley diamond mines DeBeers, after the
farmer who had previously colonized the land. In 1888 he formed the
DeBeers Consolidated Mines, a diamond cartel. This means that he
sought to control the entire world market for diamonds. He bought up
all other diamond mines in southern Africa, restricted supply and
raised prices.
When Rhodes was alive the diamonds at Kimberley were still alluvial,
easily picked up from the ground. Africans, enslaved on their own
land, had tin cans tied around their necks. They were lined up and
forced at gunpoint to get down on their hands and knees to pick up
the diamonds and put them into the cans.
After the death of Rhodes, the German Jew Ernest Oppenheimer took
over the ownership of DeBeers in the 1920s and it has remained in the
control of his family ever since.
Today DeBeers is a multi-billion dollar operation that acts like a state
power with armies of its own.
DeBeers and the Oppenheimer family are the real reigning power
behind South Africa. DeBeers was the driving force behind the setting
up of apartheid and the system that violently forced African people off
their land in order to create the workforce for the mines in highly
profitable slave-like conditions.
DeBeers pushed for multiple taxes to be imposed on the people to
drive them into the mines to earn money to pay the taxes. DeBeers
backed the pass laws and the concentration camp-like conditions for
the mine workers who were virtually imprisoned for months working at
10
least 60 hours a week, forced to sleep out in the open with no
protection from the weather.
For every 10-hour shift Africans were given a crust of bread and a
flask of cold tea. They were housed in bunkers with 20 men to a room
and forced to eat out of aluminum buckets. If an African worker
somehow managed to scrape together the means to buy a car or
house he was arrested on suspicion of stealing diamonds.
DeBeers and South Africa were forced to end the apartheid system
only when the armed mass African liberation movement made it
necessary, as a means of saving imperialism.

No such word as genocide

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 21:25:00 +0000

In Namibia today alluvial diamonds are gathered from ships off the
coast by Africans forced into near slave-like conditions. Alluvial means

that the diamonds do not have to be mined, they can simply be picked
up off the ground or from the water.
When the Germans colonized the land they called South West Africa at
the turn of the twentieth century they knew nothing of the diamonds.
They made money from fishing, hunting and farmland and saw their
African colonies as their “place in the sun,” hoping to eventually rival
Britain’s empire upon which “the sun never set.”
The Herero and Nama peoples rose up in 1904 and ‘07 to fight
courageously against the German colonizers. With the backing of
Deutsche Bank, Germany sent in General von Trotha with orders to
exterminate the Africans.
Von Trotha declared: “Any Herero found within the German borders
[sic] with or without a gun, with or without cattle, will be shot. I shall
no longer receive any women or children; I will drive them back to
their people. I will shoot them. This is my decision for the Herero
people.”
Von Trotha was true to his word, even as the Herero were careful in
their resistance to spare German women, children and missionaries.
The Germans machined-gunned the Herero people of all ages,
poisoned their wells, killed their cattle, ran human experiments on
them and rounded them up in the Kalahari Desert to die a slow,
torturous death without food, water or shelter. Eighty percent of the
Herero were killed and half of the Nama.
Namibia today has only 1.8 million people in an area bigger than
Texas, one of the smallest populations in the world. It is a chilling
irony that websites for Namibian tourism targeting Europeans promote
its sparse population as one of the country’s selling points.
When Africans throughout Africa were being slaughtered by the
millions a century ago; when countless Africans died during the middle
passage of the slave trade; when hundreds of millions of Indigenous
people were wiped out in the Americas there was no word for
“genocide.”
Genocide, as a crime against humanity, as a moral and legal concept
in the consciousness of Europeans was only invented following the
second world war after white people had inflicted mass murder on
other white people. When the Germans were slaughtering Africans in

Namibia, Jews were good Germans, happily enjoying the benefits of
German colonialism.
It is telling that General von Trotha’s wife, Lucy Goldstein von Trotha,
was Jewish.
The survivors of the Herero people have filed a $4 billion lawsuit
against the German government and corporations as reparations for
the genocide. The Germans have paid over $100 billion to the Israeli
government and Jewish people as reparations, while they scoff at the
just demand from the Herero people.