The De Beers Group is a Johannesburg- and London-based diamond mining and trading corporation. It has historically held a near-total monopoly in the diamond trade, although recent Israeli interests have captured 20% of the market. In 1994 De Beers was charged by the United States Justice Department with antitrust violations for conspiring to fix prices for industrial diamonds. On 14 July 2004 De Beers pleaded guilty to the charges and paid a $10 million fine. The plea has enabled De Beers to trade directly in the United States diamond market after years of acting through intermediaries. The US diamond market is the largest in the world, purchasing approximately $500 million in industrial stones and $60 billion in diamond jewelry annually. Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa and the second-most populous city in Sub-Saharan Africa, behind Lagos. ... St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also different names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name AS (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). ... In economics, a monopoly (from the Greek monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a kind of product or service. ... A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ... The Sherman Antitrust Act,15 U.S.C. § 1, was the first government action to limit trust companies (A corporate front for a combination of firms or corporations who agree not to lower prices below a certain rate for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices throughout a business... A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Using its monopoly, De Beers has created an artificial scarcity of diamonds, thus keeping prices high. The modern tradition of diamonds as a part of engagement in many cultures has been largely created by De Beers through an amazingly effective advertising campaign started in 1939. The "A Diamond is Forever" campaign not only convinced the public that the only suitable gift for engagement is a diamond, but also served to limit the market in used diamonds. [1] An engagement is an agreement by a couple to enter into marriage at some future time, usually accompanied by a formal or informal announcement to friends and family. ...

De Beers distributes diamonds to favored customers (called sightholders) by selecting batches of diamonds themselves and offering them "as is". Following the distressing use of diamond revenues by African revolutionaries engaged in diamond smuggling (conflict diamonds, also known as blood diamonds), De Beers now sells only diamonds mined from their own mines, most of which are in South Africa and Botswana. Currently, De Beers is involved in a joint venture that is developing a diamond prospect in Canada. A sightholder is a company on the Diamond Trading Companys (DTC) list of authorized bulk purchasers of rough diamonds. ... A conflict diamond (also called a blood diamond) is a diamond mined in a war zone and sold, usually clandestinely, in order to finance an insurgent or invading armys war efforts. ...

History

De Beers was founded on 13 March 1888 by Cecil John Rhodes. In the 20th century the Oppenheimer family became the major shareholders. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, his son Harry Oppenheimer and his grandson Nicky Oppenheimer have been chairmen of the company. Also see Alex Oppenheimer, heir and relative. March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Cecil John Rhodes (July 5, 1853 - March 26, 1902) was a British imperialist and the effective founder of the state of Rhodesia (since Zimbabwe), named after himself. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Sir Ernest Oppenheimer (22 May 1880 – November 25, 1957) – born in Friedberg, Germany – was a diamond, gold mining and financial entrepreneur, and founder of the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa. ... Harry Oppenheimer (1993) Harry Frederick Oppenheimer (28 October 1908 - 19 August 2000), was a prominent South African businessman and one of the worlds richest men. ... Nicky F. Oppenheimer is the son of Harry Oppenheimer and grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, the first generation of the family to chair (from 1929) the De Beers diamond mining company in South Africa, founded by Cecil B. Rhodes in 1888. ...

The company's name comes from Johannes Nicholas de Beer and Diederik Arnoldus de Beer, two Afrikaner farmers on whose farm, called Vooruitzicht, near the confluence of the Orange River and the Vaal River, diamonds were discovered. The brothers were not able to protect the farm from the ensuing diamond rush, and sold it for £6300. Two diamond mines formed on the site, known as the "Big Hole" or Premier mine. Although the brothers did not become the owners of the mines, one of the mines was named after them. Cecil Rhodes and Charles Rudd gained control of both the De Beers mine and the Kimberley, South Africa mine and merged them, forming De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited. Afrikaners are white South Africans of predominantly Calvinist Dutch, German, French Huguenot, Friesian and Walloon descent who speak Afrikaans. ... The Orange River is the largest river of South Africa. ... The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. ... Cecil John Rhodes (July 5, 1853 – March 26, 1902) was an English businessman and the effective founder of the state of Rhodesia (which was named after him). ... Kimberley is a town in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. ...

Because of South Africa's labor demand in the mid to late 19th century, De Beers constructed the first private prisons in South Africa, which the state filled. De Beers provided the funds to incarcerate the prisoners and also paid the state to allow the company to use the prisoners for prison labor. By the end of the 19th century, DeBeers was using over 10,000 prison laborers daily. The majority of the prisoners were incarcerated because of strict apartheid laws, similar to the Pass Laws which were enacted in 1952.[2] A company in the broadest sense is an aggregation of people who stay together for a common purpose. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Marketing

De Beers has actively promoted diamonds as being symbolic of eternity and love, and therefore the ideal jewel for an engagement or wedding ring. Their famously successful advertising campaigns have included measures such as:

• showing diamonds as wedding gifts in popular romantic movies
• publishing stories in magazines and newspapers which would emphasize the romantic value of diamonds and associate them with celebrities
• employing fashion designers and other trendsetters to promote the trend on radio and, later, television
• enlisting the British Royal Family to directly promote diamonds

This campaign was described by De Beers' PR agency N.W. Ayer & Son as "a new form of advertising which has been widely imitated ever since" with "no brand name to be impressed on the public mind. There was simply an idea—the eternal emotional value surrounding the diamond." Indeed, the campaign succeeded in reviving the American diamond market, which had been weakened by "competitive luxuries", and in opening new markets where none had existed before. In Japan, for example, diamonds were successfully promoted as a western symbol of status, which coincided with Japan's cultural opening after World War II. Japan, which had no diamond tradition before the De Beers campaign, is today the second largest market for retail diamonds. Romance or romantic can refer to several things. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized in a society. ... Members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony The British Royal Family is a group of people closely related to the British monarch. ... Public relations (PR) deals with influencing public opinion, through the presentation of a clients image, message, or product. ... N.W. Ayer & Son was the first advertising agency in the United States, founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1869. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945. ...

The slogan "A Diamond is Forever," invented by Ayer, is one of the most successful slogans in marketing history. Its purpose is to prevent the creation of a secondary market by dissuading women from selling the diamonds they have received and by discouraging them from buying diamonds which other women have owned. The consequence of this is that retailers can sell diamonds at a high price without competition from a secondary market, and it allows De Beers to maintain control of the diamond trade at wholesale level. A slogan is a memorable phrase used in political or commercial context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. ... The secondary market (also called aftermarket) is the financial market for trading of securities that have already been issued in its initial private or public offering. ... The secondary market (also called aftermarket) is the financial market for trading of securities that have already been issued in its initial private or public offering. ...

Retail joint venture

In 2001, De Beers launched a joint venture with luxury goods company LVMH in order to establish De Beers as a retail brand. The joint venture, called De Beers LV, has a license from De Beers SA to use the De Beers brand name in a retail environment. The venture has since opened two stores, one in London and a second in Tokyo. Following the settling of the United States anti-trust case, De Beers said that it planned to open a store in New York. Before the venture was allowed to begin, the EU competition commission launched an investigation into whether the venture would give De Beers too great a control over the rough diamond market. An initial one-month probe determined that a longer investigation was necessary. The commission eventually allowed the joint venture to go ahead in July 2001. 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A luxury good is a good at the highest end of the market in terms of quality and price. ... Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (usually shortened to LVMH) is the worlds largest luxury goods company. ... St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also different names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... The modern skyline of Tokyo is highly decentralized. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ...

Their first retail store in the United States opened on June 23, 2005, though the opening was picketed by protesters from Survival International, who claimed a link between the mining of diamonds and the genocide of Gana and Gwi bushmen by the Botswana government. Gloria Steinem was at the forefront of the protests, urging American consumers to boycott the store. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... 2003 GMO USDA protest Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favour, more often opposed. ... Survival International is an organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for rights for indigenous tribal peoples, helping them preserve their land and culture. ... Look up Genocide in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Genocide has been defined as the deliberate killing of people based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, or (sometimes) politics, as well as other deliberate action(s)leading to the physical elimination of any of the above categories. ... In Hinduism, Ganas are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailasa. ... The Bushmen or San peoples of South Africa and neighbouring Botswana and Namibia, who live in the Kalahari, are part of the Khoisan group and are related to the Khoikhoi. ... Gloria Steinem. ...

External links

• De Beers official homepage
• Official homepage of the De Beers/LMVH retail joint venture
• Yahoo! - De Beers Centenary AG Company Profile
• Yahoo! - De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited Company Profile
• De Beers opens first store in U.S. to protests from Yahoo! news (June 23, 2005)

... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...

U.S. court case links

• De Beers settles (17th July 2004) from BBC News
• De Beers plans to settle (10th July 2004) from The Age
• De Beers plans to settle (10th July 2004) from the Washington Times
• The Times (London) 8 Feb 2004 article on recent developments.
• Mail on Sunday (UK) 20 April 2004 article on history of USA indictment.