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South Africa diamonds‘A diamond is forever’ found at http://thestar.com.my IN 1870, an enterprising 17-year-old English lad, Cecil Rhodes, arrived in South Africa in the midst of “New Rush” diamond fever. By 1888, after protracted battles for overall control of the diamond fields, De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd was established with Rhodes as its founding chairman; the new company controlled, among other claims, the lucrative Kimberley Mine. De Beers was granted an official listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in August 1893.
Harry, son of Earnest, visited the United States in the late 1930s to investigate the possibility of a pilot consumer advertising campaign to stimulate demand that had crumbled in the face of the Great Depression and rumours of war. As a result of this trip, the first diamond advertising campaign was run by N.W. Ayer in 1939. At debeers.com, Harry explained: “N.W. Ayer ? conducted a survey and came to the conclusion that ... the real reason people buy diamonds is because they are a symbol of love. The whole advertising campaign subsequently designed by Ayer was based on this premise.” In 1947, Frances Gerety, a young copywriter on the De Beers account at N.W. Ayer, penned the famous slogan, “A diamond is forever”. This timeless line, first used in 1948, was voted top advertising slogan of the century by the prestigious Advertising Age magazine in a special 150-page issue published in January 1999. While De Beers supplies over 75% of the world’s diamonds, you cannot walk into their mines or offices waving a chequebook. You have to be a member of a league of truly extraordinary gentlemen (no woman has ever been involved) called sight-holders. They are the only people allowed to buy diamonds at wholesale prices direct from De Beers and then sell them to retailers. Currently there are only around 120 sight holders; they meet 10 times a year to inspect their diamond allocations at No. 17, Charterhouse Street, London. (De Beers’ bombproof vaults at Charterhouse Street contain around RM19bil worth of diamonds, making the relatively obscure and rundown location among the most valuable patches in London.) Payment for the “sight” is in advance of delivery of the rough diamonds. Many sight holders are Jewish and Indians; manufac-turers, dealers, cutters and polishers are mostly Europeans and American. – By KEE HUA CHEE > Jewelry
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De Beers has always controlled the international market as it produces around
50% of the world’s diamonds from its own mines while watertight deals with
other nations contribute to its undisputed ability to dictate prices. In the
20th century, the Oppenheimer family, beginning with Ernest, took control and
remain major shareholders to this day (the current chairman of the De Beers
Group is Nicky).
