Diamond Rings

Diamond Rings And DeBeers

Think diamonds and there are so many for whom the name ‘DeBeers’ springs to mind. There was a time in fact, not so long ago, when DeBeers was synonymous with diamonds. Maybe that isn’t the case anymore but there is still a very strong association of the name of this company with this brilliant gemstone.

Diamond Rings: The DeBeers Starting Point

DeBeers is associated with the whole gamut of diamonds – from the mining to the trading to manufacturing industrial diamonds. It has grown today to become a conglomerate of companies under one umbrella. It came into being in 1867 in South Africa at Kimberly and it was started by Cecil Rhodes. Through a very shrewd process of buying and collaborating, he was able to build an empire in diamonds that was the envy of the whole world. His shrewd business sense saw him tying up with London’s Diamond Syndicate and this set the path for the regulation of diamond supply as well as pricing. The reason the diamond is priced high is because its supply is always kept short of demand.

In South Africa, the DeBeers sun never stopped shining. Most of the new mines joined the cartel and the business boomed with cheap labour being plentiful. Though the hours were long and the mining meant health and environmental hassles, the diamond business flourished. Till some new mines refused to join the cartel and set about engaging in the diamond manufacturing and trading business away from the DeBeers parentage.

Diamond Rings and the DeBeers Connection

Today, DeBeers has spread its wings beyond just manufacturing and trading in diamonds. The companies are all owned by a core company called DeBeers Investments. They also have an independent diamond company which is a joint venture between them and Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. This company sells diamond jewellery through their famous shop on Bond Street in London as well as retail stores all over the world.

Diamond Rings and the DeBeers Grading

Toady, DeBeers runs grading labs called Forevermark which opened in Belgium and the UK last year. These laboratories will not only grade the diamonds but will also inscribe them with a special identification number. These labs will only grade exclusive diamonds. Diamonds with this mark will be easier for both the jewellers as well as the customers as it will have what is necessary already inscribed in it together with the Forevermark icon. Together with this, Forevermark will make sure the diamond is accompanied by a report which will specify the cut, clarity, carat and colour of the diamond. This kind of support just makes buyers feel so much safer and more enthused about buying diamonds. It is also a DeBeers offering to the public of standards of quality, integrity and reliability.