The main demand for diamonds is for courtship. Grooms feel obliged to propose with a diamond ring. The practice is ingrained in the US, which is by far the largest market for the stone. The South African company De Beers has held a tight grip on diamond production. Proposing with diamonds can be traced to a marketing campaign by De Beers in the 1930s.
In the movie Marathon Man, an escaped Nazi tortures a student by posing as a dentist. The torturer was extracting information on stolen diamonds by pulling teeth.
The diamond industry is rife with such atrocities. Diamonds are precious and easily hidden. They are hoarded during uncertainty. The precious stones are portable and carry immense value. People routinely kill for US$100,000 ($137,152) diamond rings.
