FROM CRISIS TO CHAIRMANSHIP OF DE BEERS 215
sale
of their diamonds was concerned, by the provision that the resale of
H.M. Association and Government diamonds whether in stock or purchased
subsequently 'was to be spread over a period of five years from 1
January 1930, unless otherwise agreed upon'. Moreover, the 'unenlargcd'
Syndicate, which continued to be responsible for the purchase of
conference producers' diamonds, agreed to buy an additional f 1 million
of such diamonds in the course of 1930.
These
various arrangements heralded the end of some historic controversies:
between the London and the Kimberlcy directors and the conference
producers and the Syndicate. Though the sale of the conference
producers' diamonds was still in the hands of the 'unen-larged'
Syndicate, the mere fact that the 'enlarged' Syndicate had been created
and that it was clear also that co-operation between the producers and
the buyers for the world market would soon take more concrete legal
form, the old objection that the head of the Syndicate should not also
be head of De Beers Consolidated Mines had obviously lost much of its
point, for it only required one further step before the 'enlarged'
Syndicate became responsible for diamond sales as a whole. On Friday 20
December 1929, on the proposal of Mr. R. Philipson-Stow, Ernest
Oppenheimer was unanimously appointed chairman of De Beers. At the
second meeting of the board of the Diamond Corporation on 10 March
1930, Ernest Oppenheimer was elected chairman of that corporation also.
He
had attained his heart's desire: he was now in charge of the diamond
world. It was just in time. On 29 October 1929 the New York Stock
Exchange had experienced the greatest set-back in its history and the
world depression of the thirties had begun. A new, troubled, and
dangerous era lay ahead.
