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Diamond Distribution
As it travels from Botswana or Siberian mine to the ring
finger of the bride to be, a diamond passes through
dozens of hands, metamorphososing en route from a dull,
shapeless piece from the soil into a glittering spark of
cold fire! Yet, no matter where it ends up, the chances
are great that the rough stone will go through London,
which for more than 350 years has sat at the crossroads
of the diamond trade (Read - Precious No More, A Global
Diamond Glut Rattles the De Beers Cartel - Newsweek,
November 9, 1992). Since 1930, London has been home to
the Central Selling Organization (CSO), the powerful
marketing arm of De Beers empire.
De Beers' market share in diamond distribution has been
shrinking, from nearly 90 percent in the mid-1980s to
roughly 60 percent today, by its own account. Analysts
say its share of worldwide diamond mining is about 45 to
50 percent. The Johannesburg, South Africa-based
company, which has carried the banner of the diamond
industry for decades, says that even as more competition
emerges, it wants to keep a leading role in its core
business: the mining and marketing of rough diamonds.
According to wikipedia, the De Beers Group, a diamond
mining and trading corporation had a near de facto
monopoly on the worlds diamond trade. A whopping 80 %
share. And today it’s 60% due to some outside their
control.
Production
The De Beers company and its subsidiaries own interests
in and operate the Bulfontein, De Beers, Dutoitpan,
Kimberly, Wesselton, Kamfersdam, Finsch, Koffiefontein,
Premier, Venetia, and Namaqualand mines in South Africa.
It also owns rights to the Voorssoed mine near
Kroonstad. However, to perpetrate the diamond invention,
it was not sufficient for De Beers to merely own the
largest mines that produced most of the world's
diamonds. It had to control the production of the
significant sources, including the scattered diggings in
Africa and the jungle streams of South America. It had
to be able to assure the major diamond cutters and
dealers that they had no alternative source for their
diamonds other than at Chatterhouse Street in London
where diamonds are distributed only to sight-holders.
Oppenheimers therefore negotiated a series of secret
arrangements to block the availability of diamonds from
the sources that their company did not directly own or
control. In British colonies, such as Gold Coast (now
Ghana), or Sierra Leone De Beers contracted to buy
whatever diamonds were unearthed from British mining
companies, such as Selection Trust which is held the
mining concessions there. In South America. where
alluvial diamond fields were scattered over vast areas,
it arranged deals with the local buying agents.
What is Sight Holders?
In its distribution process, De Beers have commanded
absolute authority. 10 times a year, De Beers sells
boxes of rough diamonds to 160 select international
dealers and manufacturers in market rituals as sights in
London, although smaller sights are simultaneously held
in...
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The Name of the Game
For major diamond dealers, the objective is to
increase allocation of diamonds that they receive in their shoebox at each night
(Read - The Rise and Fall of Diamonds, The Shuttering of a
Brilliant Illusion by Edward Jay Epstein). It is , as one dealer put it -
"the Name of the Game"...
Read more..
Maintaining the Value of Diamonds
The multi-billion dollar business of diamonds revolves
around the attractive pebble that has a less intrinsic
value per carat. The higher value is an artificial one
and is attributable to the strong hand of De Beers. The
sights in London are not merely occasions for major
gem...
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Creating Artificial Scarcity
It is ironic that during the lifetime of Sir Ernest
Oppenheimer, De Beers never discovered a diamond mine itself. Oppenheimers saw
little point to investing profits in exploring for diamonds...
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Tell me about the Name De Beers
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. is a business organization that has been
controlling the diamond trade world wide for the last century. Many
people tried to compete such Harry Winston for New York and the Argyle
Diamond Company of Australia ...
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The Birth of De Beers Company
in Early
1871, a diamond was found on a small hill, a mile away
from the farm house owned by De Beer brothers (whose
names were immortalized in the misspelled form of De
Beer) in the town of Vooruizicht in South Africa and
soon another was found on the farm. A throng of...
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The Oppenheimers Arrive..
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, who came from a prosperous cigar business family
in Germany, moved as a child to South Africa to join his brothers on a
diamond farm in 1902. He started his career as a diamond sorter and grew
rapidly to own and operate the world's most powerful...
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The Long Arm of De Beers
De Beers mainly mines gem quality and industrial
diamonds, markets diamonds produced by itself and also others, makes and
sells synthetic diamond and related international investments in mining,
industrial and finance companies. In its worldwide operations, it has
assumed many....
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Monopoly Through Financial Strength and Government
Support
De Beers could teach OPEC a thing or two about how to
maintain a cartel. It controls 80% of the world's diamond supply
through only 20% of De Beers gems come from its own mines. It
controls the world's diamond trade through indirect levers. Some
nations, such as Botswana...
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A Diamond is Forever
De Beers launched a multi-million dollar "A Diamond is For Ever" advertising
campaign to rekindle the demand. With N.W. Iyer, its U.S. advertising agency, it
had developed aggressive campaign to promote sales of diamond anniversary rings
and jewelry for men... ...
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De Beers' Competition
De Beers has left no avenues to control, stop, take over, make friends with or
bulldoze its competitors when necessary. In 1971, it crushed Sammy Collin's
Marine Diamond....
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How did De Beers Do it?
De Beers was phenomenally successfully in crushing its competitors with the
strengths it built over 100 years through financial and relationship powers and
the business acumen that came from...
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Diamonds from New Sources
The Oppenheimers using all colonial connections of the British Empire, succeeded
in weaving all the later discoveries in Africa, the colonial administrators in
Angola, the Congo, Sierra Leone......
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Smuggling from other African Mines
The smuggling routes lead from the diamond mines and diggings in
Southern and Western Africa to entry spots such as Monroevia,
Brazzaville, Burundi and Beirut. The Belgian and other European markets
are often flooded with smuggled diamonds. The native sorters at....
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Read about Diamond History,
Diamond Trade, Buying Tips and more...
The Romans believed that diamonds brought
courage and bravery during battle. Jewish high priests used diamonds to
decide the innocence or guilt of the accused: A stone held before a
guilty person dulled and darkened; a stone held before an innocent
person glowed with increased brilliance. The Hindus believed that this
brilliant gem was created when....
Learn about Diamonds....
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Controlling Diamond Distribution
