Secrecy and private offices displace open trading for large diamond dealers.
Evidence
In the diamond industry, where profitability depends largely on a dealer’s network of contacts, secrecy is valued; large-scale transactions tend to be consummated in private offices. In addition, because properly valuing a stone depends on the ability to detect minor flaws and color variations, buyers prefer to examine large stones in familiar light. Furthermore, for security reasons, many dealers do not want it known that they have valuable stones in their possession. — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 41
Categorization
- XREF: This inverts the piazza logic in the reading purpose: here closure protects private transactions from public knowledge, whereas in Sciascia closure converts the public square into a wall of silence against the state. — connects to: Diamond dealers’ secrecy about trading partners blocks efficient resale markets. — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 220; Private bourse dispute-resolution and secrecy keep the diamond trade extralegal and low-breach.; Reputation, not third-party enforcement, governs diamond market transactions. — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 252
Broader Connections
- Diamond dealers’ secrecy about trading partners blocks efficient resale markets.
#corroborates(0.92) — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 220 - Private bourse dispute-resolution and secrecy keep the diamond trade extralegal and low-breach.
#expands(0.82) - Reputation, not third-party enforcement, governs diamond market transactions.
#complicates(0.75) — Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal System, 252