A Brilliant Commodity

In A Brilliant Commodity, historian Saskia Coenen Snyder explores the significant role of Jewish communities in the late nineteenth-century diamond trade, detailing how they transformed from peripheral traders to central figures in a global market. As tens of thousands mined and shipped millions of carats from South Africa to major cities like London and New York, Jews leveraged their historical networks and business acumen to create an intricate commodity chain spanning continents. This compelling narrative reveals the intersection of culture, commerce, and identity as Jews established a thriving presence in the burgeoning diamond industry.