Diamonds used to have a daddy. The daddy was De Beers - a South Africa based mining company who held as much as 80 percent of the diamond market share back in the 1980s. This provided quite an incentive for De Beers to promote diamond consumption, regardless of the particular dealers and jewelry designers who sold them. And although it took a considerable budget, I'm pretty sure marketing diamonds is easy enough.
I mean, diamonds almost sell themselves. The images of these clear, beautifully cut stones make it impossible not to think "I've got to get me one too." So all De Beers had to do was display pictures of sparkling diamonds on big billboards. At least as far as I'm concerned.
However, by the year 2000 De Beers's market share was reduced to 65 percent, and in 2005 it was further reduced to 43 percent. Today De Beers only holds 40 percent of the diamond market, a mere half of its market share almost thirty years ago, partly because of the sale of the Williamson mine, which is now producing profusely for its new owner, Petra Diamonds.
All things considered, the intelligent people at De Beers are no longer interested in being generic diamonds' big daddy. Their new campaign now promotes a special miniature inscription on the diamond itself assuring clients of its origins. With revelations of fake diamond certificates the investment in diamond inscription is likely to pay off. The Board of Diamond Dealers has recently issued a warning regarding fake diamond certificates that masque treated diamonds as natural ones, thereby falsely increasing their supposed value. This can definitely put off diamond consumers and dealers.
This left a gap – now, who's gonna spend out on big billboards displaying those irresistible, radiant diamonds, making sure we all continue to consume them?
Well, some of the major diamond mining companies wisely got together and created a board dedicated exactly to that – making sure we keep hankering for that fabulous sparkle embedded in our jewelry. They intend to become diamonds' new big daddy, maintaining consumer confidence by providing customer service, guiding and answering quarries.
These "new guys on the block" are still in the initial stages of organization. They're still looking for that bright Chief Executive Officer to lead the project. (Interested?) They'll spend the next twelve months organizing themselves as well as building up consumer confidence.
With Zimbabwe seemingly phasing out of decent diamond trade after disregarding Kimberly Process Team recommendations, these services by the board have gained added importance. We all want to know that our latest purchase of "a girl's best friend" is genuine, and we don't want any children losing limbs over that lovely sparkling diamond of ours, when following the Kimberly Process guidelines doesn't take more than simple decency.
Kimberly Process Teams go and investigate cases of blood diamond abuses and help us purchase diamonds that do not involve enslavement or cruelty. So I'm excited about generic diamonds' big new daddy and wish them the best. Hope to see them around.
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