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Jun 2020
24m 15s

Diamond Wars | The Puppet Master | 2

Wondery
About this episode
It’s 1914 and De Beers’s monopoly is under threat. Diamonds have been discovered on the desolate coast of the German colony of South West Africa.So it hired an ambitious diamond expert named Ernest Oppenheimer and gave him his orders: head to the beach and assess the threat.But then World War One disrupts De Beers chance to do a deal with the German diamond ... Show More
Up next
Jul 2020
Diamond Wars | Diamond Dogfight | 3
It’s 1940, and the world is at war. The Allies and Axis powers are scrambling to lock down supplies of the industrial diamonds needed to mass produce their tanks, planes and submarines.But when the White House demands De Beers hands over a year’s supply of industrial diamonds, it ... Show More
24m 26s
Jul 2020
Diamond Wars | The Shadow World | 4
It’s the early 1950s and West Africa’s growing number of diamond smugglers is causing headaches for De Beers. Faced with millions of pounds in losses, the diamond monopoly decides it’s time to get tough with the smugglers.But while De Beers battles the illicit diamond traders, in ... Show More
25m 15s
Jul 2020
Diamond Wars | Blood and Champagne | 5
It’s 1966 and De Beers is about to abandon its eleven-year search for diamonds in Botswana. But the geologist behind the search is far from ready to pack up his tools.And De Beers isn’t the only one searching for gemstones. Soon, a major diamond find in Australia will leave the d ... Show More
25m 34s
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