Citizendia

De Beers
TypePrivately held company
Founded1888
FounderCecil Rhodes
HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
Area servedWorldwide
Key peopleNicky Oppenheimer, Chairman
Gareth Penny, Managing Director
IndustryExploration and mining of diamonds
ProductsDiamonds
ServicesDiamond marketing and promotion. An entrepreneur is a person who has possession over a company enterprise, or Venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome Cecil John Rhodes, PC DCL (5 July 1853 &ndash 26 March 1902 was an English -born Businessman mining Magnate, and Politician Johannesburg ( Pronounced /jō-hān'ĭs-bûrg'/ is the largest city in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Nicholas "Nicky" F Oppenheimer (born 8 June 1945) is a billionaire South African businessman the chairman of the De Beers Gareth Penny (born 1962) is a South African businessman and Managing Director of De Beers. Managing director is the term used for the Chief executive of many limited companies in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and some other English For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in A service is the non-material equivalent of a good. A service provision is an economic activity that does not result in Ownership, and this is what differentiates Community development.
Revenue▲ US $6. In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 5 billion (2005)
Net income▲ US $554 million (2005)
Employees22,936
Website[11] www. Net income is equal to the Income that a firm has after subtracting costs and Expenses from the total Revenue. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages debeersgroup. com - De Beers Group official web site

De Beers engages in exploration for diamonds, diamond mining and diamond trading (diamond (gemstone)). The diamond is one of the most well-known and sought-after Gemstones Diamonds have been known to mankind and used as decorative items since ancient times some of the earliest Founded by Cecil Rhodes, the various companies within the De Beers Family of Companies are responsible for around 40% of world diamond production by value. Cecil John Rhodes, PC DCL (5 July 1853 &ndash 26 March 1902 was an English -born Businessman mining Magnate, and Politician

De Beers is active in every category of diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea. [1]

De Beers has a presence in 25 countries, largely on account of its extensive exploration activities. Mining takes place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania. The Republic of Botswana (Lefatshe la Botswana is a Landlocked nation in Southern Africa. Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa on the Atlantic coast The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya Mining in Botswana takes place through the mining company Debswana,[2]a 50-50 joint venture with the Government of the Republic of Botswana. Debswana Diamond Company Ltd, or simply Debswana, is a giant Mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of Diamonds In Namibia it takes place through Namdeb,[3] a 50-50 joint venture with the Government of the Republic of Namibia. Mining in South Africa takes place through De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM),[4] a partnership with the broad based black economic empowerment partner, Ponahalo Investments. In Tanzania it occurs through a partnership with the government of Tanzania, 75% owned by De Beers, 25% by government. In 2008 De Beers will open 2 mines in Canada - Snap Lake and Victor. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page [5]

Contents

Business structure

De Beers Investments is the privately held, ownership company of De Beers Societe Anonyme (DBSA), and is registered in Luxembourg. Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by It is made up of three shareholdings; Anglo American plc has a 45% shareholding, Central Investments DBI has a 40% shareholding, and the Government of the Republic of Botswana owns 15% directly. Anglo American PLC () is a world-wide group of companies, originally founded in South Africa as a Mining enterprise but now extending into other areas De Beers Societe Anonyme (DBSA) is the management company of the De Beers group. [6]

The Diamond Trading Company

The Diamond Trading Company, the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the De Beers Group, sorts, values and sells approximately 40% of the world’s rough diamonds by value. The Diamond Trading Company (DTC is the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the De Beers Family of Companies The DTC has a combination of wholly-owned and joint venture operations in South Africa (DTCSA), Botswana (DTCB), Namibia (NDTC and the United Kingdom (DTC).

The diamonds sold by the DTC are sourced primarily from De Beers’ own mining operations in South Africa and Canada, and through its joint venuture partnerships with the governments of Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania. Technicians in London, Kimberley, Windhoek and Gaborone sort these diamonds into approximately 12,000 different categories based on size, shape, quality and colour, for DTC Sightholders. [7]There are 79 Sightholder companies who buy the rough diamonds from the DTC and its partner offices. Sightholders travel to London, Kimberley, Gaborone and Windhoek ten times a year for their Sight.

DTC Sales in 2007 were $5. 9bn.

The DTC develops diamond technology and operates a research and development facility based in the UK, to support the consistency of DTC rough diamond assortments for Sightholders and downstream industries in the DTC’s producer partner countries.

Sightholders are required to comply with the De Beers’s Best Practice Principles (BPP)s which set out various objective standards of conduct within three main areas: Business responsibilities; Social responsibilities; Environmental responsibilities. The BPPs ensure that the De Beers Family of Companies, Sightholders and applicable third parties operate to an ethical, legal, professional, social and environmental standard, including being committed to the Kimberley Process. [8]

In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution supporting the creation of an international certification scheme for rough diamonds. By November 2002, negotiations between governments, the international diamond industry and civil society organisations resulted in the creation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). The KPCS sets out the requirements for controlling rough diamond production and trade. The KPCS became effective in 2003.

Marketing

Promotional campaigns

De Beers has been very successful in increasing desire for diamonds. A young copywriter, Frances Gerety coined the famous advertising line "A Diamond is Forever" in 1947, allegedly while she was dreaming, and the company has created many successful campaigns since then. One of the most effective of these has been the marketing of diamonds as a symbol of love and commitment.

Some of the campaigns started by De Beers include the "eternity ring" (as a symbol of continuing affection and appreciation), the "trilogy" ring (representing the past, present and future of a relationship) and the "right hand ring" (bought and worn by women as a symbol of independence).

De Beers is also known for its television advertisements featuring silhouettes of people wearing diamonds, to the music of Palladio by Karl Jenkins. Dr Karl William Jenkins OBE DMus FRAM ARAM LRAM FWCMD FTCC (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer

The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Kingdom for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds. The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Kingdom open to Thoroughbreds which are three-years-old From 1972 to 2006 the event was sponsored by De Beers, and in 1975 permission was given by Queen Elizabeth II for the word "Diamond" to be included in the title and from 1975 to 2006 it was run as the "King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes". De Beers commissioned a diamond trophy for the winner each year and was designed and hand-crafted by some of the best goldsmiths in Britain.

Retail ventures

De Beers retail store on Rodeo Drivein Beverly Hills, California
De Beers retail store on Rodeo Drivein Beverly Hills, California

In 2001, De Beers entered into a retail joint venture with French luxury goods company Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy[9] (LVMH) to establish an independently managed De Beers diamond jewellery company. Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district famous for Designer label and Haute couture fashion California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton SA ( usually shortened to LVMH, is a French Holding company and is the world's largest Luxury The joint venture, called De Beers Diamond Jewelers Ltd sells diamond jewellery. The first De Beers store opened on Old Bond Street in London and there are now De Beers retail stores in the following locations:

Laboratory created synthetics

Since the 1950s, it has been possible to create synthetic diamonds in a laboratory. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Bond Street is a major shopping street in London which runs through Mayfair from Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of Commerce for the city Harrods is a Department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. Ginza (銀座 is a district of Chūō Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and or Nihombashi, is a business district of Chūō Tokyo, Japan which grew up around the Bridge of the same name which has linked two sides of the is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center housing the busiest train station in the world ( Shinjuku Station is a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū Shinsaibashi (心斎橋 is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area Umeda (梅田 is a commercial and business district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, best known as the city's main northern railway terminus ( Osaka Station The City of New York Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district famous for Designer label and Haute couture fashion "The Galleria" redirects here For other similar structures named "Galleria" see Galleria. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Printemps (meaning "spring" in French) is a French Department store (or a grand magasin, literally "big store" The Las Vegas metropolitan area includes the Las Vegas Valley a 600-square-mile (1600 km² basin and surrounding areas that is part of Clark County in southern The Forum Shops at Caesars is a 634000 ft² mall connected to Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas Nevada. Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE The Mall of the Emirates is a Shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. McLean (pronounced "mick-CLANE") is an Unincorporated community located in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. Tysons Galleria is an upscale three-level shopping mall owned by General Growth Properties located at 2001 International Drive McLean Virginia, in Tysons Corner Costa Mesa is a Suburban city in Orange County California, United States. South Coast Plaza is an upscale Shopping mall in Costa Mesa California, USA in Orange County, and one of the most notable shopping centers in the Synthetic diamond (also known variously as lab-created, manufactured, lab-grown or cultured diamond) is a term used to describe Diamond These laboratory created stones have since been used for many industrial purposes, such as for abrasives in heavy duty drilling. It is now also possible to produce laboratory created synthetics that are indistinguishable optically from mined diamonds even by professional vendors, making them suitable for jewellery. These are generally colored gems, but at least one company, Apollo Diamond, is offering colorless synthetics, although only in sizes up to 0. 06 carats[10]

The Diamond Trading Company has developed instruments, mainly for use by the trade and gemological laboratories, which according to DTC can detect all "treatments, synthetics and simulants. The Diamond Trading Company (DTC is the rough diamond sales and distribution arm of the De Beers Family of Companies " The DTC also funds educational programs about treatments that can change the appearance and other properties of diamonds, and lobbies for all diamond treatments and synthetics to be labeled as such. According to the DTC, these activities are undertaken in cooperation with leading trade bodies as a means of "ensuring full and accurate information is provided to consumers. "[11][12]

Conflict diamonds

De Beers policy in the 1990s, which applied to all of Africa, was only to buy those diamonds that were legitimately traded and that it believed were not used to fund rebel groups, although they came under scrutiny and were widely believed to be a prominent dealer of conflict diamonds. In 1999, in line with a new zero-tolerance policy, De Beers stopped all outside buying of diamonds in order to guarantee categorically the conflict-free status of De Beers diamonds. [13][14]

De Beers states that 100% of the diamonds it now sells are conflict-free. According to the company, all De Beers diamonds are purchased in compliance with national law, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme[15] and its own Diamond Best Practice Principles. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, popularly known as KPCS is a process designed to certify the origin of Rough diamonds from sources which are free of conflict [16]De Beers is active in the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate conflict diamonds from world diamond flows, and the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI). [17] The DDI aims to address the political, social and economic challenges facing the small-scale informal diamond mining sector and to optimise the beneficial development impacts of small-scale formal diamond mining to diggers and their communities. It does this through promoting the development of sustainable business models supported by development projects.

Legal issues

In 2004, De Beers pleaded guilty and paid a $10 million fine to the United States Department of Justice to settle a 1994 charge that De Beers had conspired with General Electric to fix the price of industrial diamonds (i. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department Price fixing is an agreement between business competitors to sell the same product or service at the same price e. diamonds used for industrial purposes such as abrasives on drills). General Electric had been to court to face the charges, but the case was thrown out for lack of evidence. De Beers refused to appear in court, but ten years later "admitted [to] conspiring to fix prices in the $500 million industrial diamond market", pleaded guilty, and agreed to pay a $10 million fine. [18][19]

In November 2005, De Beers announced that an agreement had been reached and a preliminary approval order issued to settle the majority of civil class action price fixing suits filed against the company in the United States. Since then, in March 2006, the three remaining civil class action suits were added to the November settlement agreement. This resulted in an overriding global settlement arrangement totaling US$295 million which has received preliminary court approval. This settlement does not involve any admission of liability on the part of De Beers but will bring an end to all outstanding class actions. De Beers continues to cooperate with the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to seek resolution of this litigation. The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of New Jersey. As part of the settlement, which is not expected to be final until at least April 2008, persons who purchased diamonds within the past ten years may be eligible for a certain level of compensation. [20]

As part of the class action settlement, De Beers offered injunctive relief, which includes a general commitment to comply with the antitrust laws of the United States, and a commitment not to engage in specific conduct with third party producers and Sightholders. Injunctive relief is a typical component of class action settlements in the United States.

In February 2006, it was announced that De Beers had voluntarily entered into legally binding commitments with the European Commission to cease purchasing rough diamonds from Alrosa as of 2009. The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. In January 2007, the European Commission announced that it had rejected all outstanding complaints against the DTC's Supplier of Choice sales strategy.

External links

See also

Popular culture

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ [4]
  5. ^ [5]
  6. ^ [6]
  7. ^ [ http://www.debeersgroup.com/en/Sales-and-distribution/Sights-and-Sightholders/]
  8. ^ [7]
  9. ^ LVMH - Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy
  10. ^ Apollo Diamond, accessed 12 June 2008. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [8]
  11. ^ Davis, Joshua The New Diamond Age Wired, Issue 11. 09, September 2003, accessed online February 11, 2007
  12. ^ Welbourn, Dr. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Chris. ; Fisher Dr. David De Beers' Research Yields HPHT Secrets Rapaport News, posted online May 6, 2002, accessed online February 11, 2007
  13. ^ De Beers Group De Beers Report to Stakeholders 2005/6 - Ethics, "Conflict and Instability" De Beers Group, accessed online February 11, 2007
  14. ^ [9]
  15. ^ Kimberley Process
  16. ^ [10]
  17. ^ Diamond Development Initiative (DDI)
  18. ^ De Beers pleads guilty in price fixing case - World business - MSNBC.com
  19. ^ DeBeers Pleads to Price-Fixing (washingtonpost.com)
  20. ^ DeBeers Settlement
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