On Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:27:42 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry "William Black"
<william.black@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>>Oh yes. Look up 'Interstate comerce in the USA' some time
>>
>>I understand that their sucess was challenged until they managed to get
the
>>output of the Sierra Leonian mines under their control.
Sierra Leone is/was hardly the only diamond source operating outside of
the
DeBeers line of control. Venezuela, Canada, Australia, and many of the
Russian
sources sell, or have sold, outside of the DeBeers organization to one
degree or
another. DeBeers is no longer a total monopoly. But they do still
control the
majority of the sources, and that seems to be enough.
>>
>>It is the 'unregistered sellers' that were causing them the problem.
>>
Or any sellers working outside of their organization, as noted above.
But for
many diamond sellers, it doesn't make too much sense to work outside of
DeBeers,
since often they'll simply get the best prices through them...
Perhaps the greatest long term threat to DeBeers isn't the "out of
network"
sales of rough diamonds. It may well be the developing field of synthetic
diamonds. If available in enough quantitiy, at high enough quality, to
cause
serious competition with natural diamonds but at lower cost, the
implications
for DeBeers could be significant. Part of their response to this has been
the
aggressive work to promote DeBeers as a brand name for diamonds, rather
than
just a source, as well as a lot of research in developing methods of
accurately
detecting the synthetic diamonds. Much of the current crop of yellow
fancy
colors, and perhaps the other fancies also being made, ARE identifiable,
at
least by a good gem lab if not by the average gemologist. But the
colorless
high quality stones that may be coming down the line in the future could
be a
LOT more difficult to identify with certainty, and if we end up where a
diamond
can no longer be absolutely identified as natural versus synthetic, the
effect
on diamond prices could be dramatic, at least in the higher qualities
where this
is most likely to be an issue.
>>deBeers doesn't operate directly in the USA because their normal
business
>>practices would be considered illegal there...
>>
Not any longer. The Antitrust / monopoly issues the justice department
had with
DeBeers for many years were, so far as I know, settled via a rather large
class
action lawsuit earlier this year. virtually anyone who'd bought diamonds,
either wholesale or retail, in the U.S. during the past ten years or
something
like that, could, if they wished, file a claim to get some of the price
back.
For large dealers and sellers, it made sense to file claims. For most
individuals, the payment funds would have been sufficiently diluted as to
make
the end payout not much worth the paperwork. But whatever, the lawyers
made a
lot of money on the suit, as they always due, and since that settlement
agreement, DeBeers is no longer under that cloud of prosecution here in
the
U.S. Even the top executives, who for many years didn't travel to the
U.S. to
avoid arrest here, apparently are now again free to do so if they wish.
At
least, that's what the news stories said. I don't have all the details
handy.
But as Abrasha has pointed out, they are now opening offices and stores in
the
U.S.
Peter
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