One reason a relatively small number of banks are involved in the diamond industry is that evaluating the worth of a stone (often used as inventory collateral) in the absence of an objective and readily ascertainable market price requires an expertise in gemstones that bankers seldom have. Consequently, many loan decisions are really made on the basis of the bank's perception of the dealer's reputation in the marketplace.

Lisa Bernestein, Opting out of the Legal Sys…, loc. 268