An Essay on Diamonds, Trust, and Antitrust, Inspired by Barak D. Richman’s Stateless Commerce

The author combines his antitrust background and his experience as a CEO in the jewelry industry to consider Barak Richman’s book, Stateless Commerce, with its detailed description of the role of trust and reputation in the global diamond industry. Richman argues for rule of reason treatment to certain kinds of boycotts that reflect more efficient cooperative institutions made necessary by what he describes as “court failures.” This article adds a retail perspective to an analysis based on earlier stages of the supply chain and further explores the relationship between trust and industry structure