American RadioWorksDocumentariesWorld
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     November 2001
With This Ring: Following the International Diamond Trail

In 1948, the De Beers company began to use the slogan, "A Diamond Is Forever", and touched off the romance of the century. In this documentary, follow the international diamond trail from the buckets of child miners in war-torn Western Africa to America's jewelry counters.
More Bouat Diamonds
SIDEBARS
Hollywood's Diamonds

The Faces of the Antwerp Diamond District

SLIDESHOWS
Manhattan's Diamond District

Diamond Mining in Sierra Leone

BOOK EXCERPT
Diamond: A Journey to the Heart of an Obsession

PHOTO GALLERY
Diamonds in Advertising

TIMELINE
Diamonds Through the Ages

RESOURCES
Diamonds Facts and Links

Full Audio and Transcript


Documentary Sections
small photo PART I
De Beers and the Diamond Mystique
The De Beers company has convinced millions that an otherwise useless gemstone can represent that which we so value: love and fidelity.
 
small photo  PART II
Conflict Diamonds in West Africa
Since 1992, armed conflict in Sierra Leone has been fueled by the cold hard profits of illegal diamond sales. American RadioWorks investigates how effective the international diamond industry and U.N. peacekeepers have been in stanching the flow of 'blood diamonds.'
 
small photo PART III
Diamond Trading in Belgium
In the Northern Belgium port city of Antwerp, throngs of diamond dealers from around the world buy and sell rough diamonds.
 
small photo PART IV
The Democratic Diamond
Half the world's diamond jewelery is purchased in the United States. Most of it comes through the diamond district in Manhattan; but some of it is now coming through discount warehouse stores and the Internet.
 



CREDITS
Correspondents: Jacki Lyden, Deborah George, Stephen Smith
Producers: Davar Ardalan, Sasha Aslanian and Michael Montgomery
Additional Reporting by: Jovo Martinovic
Editors: Deborah George, Stephen Smith, Christopher Joyce
Host: Daniel Zwerdling
Coordinating Producer: Sasha Aslanian
Technical Direction: Craig Thorson with additional technical support from Michael Johnson
 
Project Coordinator: Misha Quill
Associate Producer: Susan Stone
Interns: Curtis Gilbert, Nichole Alwell, Mark Holterhaus, Lara Ratzlaff
Managing Editor: Stephen Smith
Executive Producer: Bill Buzenberg
Web Manager: John Pearson
Web Art Director: Darby Laing
Online Producer: Emily Thompson

To order a CD of the With this Ring special report, send a check or money order for $20 to: American Public Media CDs, 45 East 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55101

cpb logo Major funding for American RadioWorks comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Photo: AP/Wide World

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