Society as a whole has become more and more dependent on diamonds as the years have passed. From the discovery of this rare gem deep in the earth's crust, to its use now as a certain gesture of love. The rarity of this beautiful gem has changed, however the price of diamonds has changed accordingly with its value (imposed by society). This essay will effectively argue that the price of diamonds is too high in the market today due to various economic factors. The essay will provide information about diamond cartels and how these cartels have affected the price of diamonds. Furthermore, the essay will give rise to the economic theories that influence these prices and how the price is controlled in the market. Investopedia refers to a cartel as an organization created by a formal agreement between a group of competing producers to regulate supply in order to effectively manipulate the prices of the good or service, in this case diamonds. This set of companies/countries acts together as a single producer to influence the prices of goods/services by controlling production. However, a cartel has less influence on the market than a monopoly (Investopedia, 2009). Initially, diamond trade occurred only between two countries, Brazil and India. Diamonds were scarce until the mid-19th century, when they were discovered in South Africa, and thus began the diamond rush of modern times (Goldschein, 2011). Harry Oppenheimer took over the DeBeers mining company and turned it into an international conglomerate. Each year, the DeBeers determine the total number of diamonds they intend to sell, and each producer is guaranteed a fixed percentage of the total production. Diamonds are bought and traded through... middle of paper... Cartel. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: Parkin, M., 2010. Economics. 1st ed. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa.Tutor2u.net, 2014. [online] Available at:Analystnotes.com, 2014. [online] Available at:The Economist, 2013. Another French exception. [online] Available on: The Economist, 2011. Betting on De Beers. [online] Available at: Reporter, S., 2011. The Oppenheimers abandon the diamond race with a $5 billion sale. [online] M&G online. Available at: