A Brilliant Commodity

The author's scholarship is exceptional, the writing is clear and concise, and the book is an essential account of that tumultuous time in history. * Russell Shor, Journal of Gemmology * A product of deep research, this admirable book illuminates the circuits of people, commodities, and capital in the diamond trade. In tracing Jewish enterprise and expertise through networks that encompass the Cape, London, Amsterdam, and New York, Coenen Snyder provides a convincing study of material culture set in the dynamic contexts of societies old and new. * Saul Dubow, Cambridge University * If diamonds, as De Beers would have us believe, are forever, the full story of the modern diamond trade has slipped from memory. Saskia Coenen Snyder reminds us of the central and multi-faceted role of Jews on three continents in transforming rough-hewn stones from the mines of Kimberley to the brilliant jewels sold to eager customers in the United States. This is transnational history at its best, revealing the global networks that made the diamond trade possible, teaching us about how diamonds reshaped local economies and everyday lives, and illuminating the lasting cultural impact of the relationship between Jews and diamonds. * Adam D. Mendelsohn, author of Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War: The Union Army * Ever wonder how and why the magic words 'I do' are coupled with a diamond ring? If so, this book is for you. Sweeping, vivid, and resonant, Saskia Coenen Snyder's account of the global traffic in diamonds encompasses economics and etiquette, diamond mines and curb-side markets, intimate courtship rituals and public displays of affluence. A Brilliant Commodity is a triumph of the historical imagination. * Jenna Weissman Joselit, author of A Perfect Fit: Clothes, Character, and The Promise of America * This intriguing book is a model of transnational Jewish economic history. Assorted histories-imperial, Jewish, economic, and labor-converge in Coenen Snyder's fascinating account of how diamonds became a niche dominated by Jews in the world of luxury goods. This comprehensive but comprehensible study takes the reader from the minefields of Africa to the exchange floors of London to the 'Jewish factories' of Amsterdam to the retail storefronts of New York City as it brings to life the enterprising people who made diamonds a ubiquitous luxury by the twenty-first century. * Rebecca Kobrin, Columbia University *