corundum, quality.10, gems

A wide-ranging review of the precious-stone industry during 1914, dominated by the disruptive effects of the First World War on mining, cutting, trade, and consumption. Kunz describes the immediate collapse of European demand after the outbreak of hostilities, the interruption of the Amsterdam and Antwerp diamond-cutting industries, restrictions on shipping, and the consequent sharp decline in U.S. imports during the latter part of the year. Much of the report is devoted to diamonds, with detailed accounts of De Beers and Premier operations, the shutdown or curtailment of South African mines, German Southwest African production, the Belgian Congo, Brazil, and other fields. The war caused widespread suspension of mining and severe labor and marketing problems, although diamond prices remained comparatively firm. Other sections treat Colombian emerald mining, Alaskan garnet, pearls and pearl fisheries in the Pacific and Indian oceans, the Burma Ruby Mines at Mogok, and sapphire production at Anakie, Queensland. Kunz notes that the Mogok company operated at a loss for the year and records the effects of weaker European demand for ruby, while Australian sapphire production was also curtailed. The report closes with discussion of the growing international adoption of the metric carat and provides a valuable contemporary account of how the outbreak of war abruptly transformed the global gemstone industry.