FAQs

At its peak, conflict diamonds accounted for a very small percentage of the global diamond trade.  However the United Nations, Governments, NGOs, De Beers Group and the rest of the diamond industry recognised there was a need for a global system to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate diamond supply chain to fund conflict. 

This system would also reassure customers that their diamonds were from conflict free sources.  This system was put in place and is called the Kimberley Process.  Today more than 99% (99.8%) of the world’s diamonds are certified conflict free.

De Beers Group finds it abhorrent that revenues from the sale of rough diamonds have been used in the past to fund rebel activities, and have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards conflict diamonds. 

In addition to the Kimberley Process, the De Beers Group, as the world’s largest trader of rough diamonds, has taken its own action.  Through its Best Practice Principles, the De Beers Group will not buy or trade in diamonds from any area where such activities would encourage any form of conflict or human suffering. 

There is no possibility of conflict diamonds entering into De Beers’ diamond pipeline.  The company’s customers, known as Sightholders, are also bound by the same commitment to the Best Practice Principles as a condition of their supply and are independently audited to ensure compliance. 

Consumers can be confident that their diamond purchases are helping to support development, not destruction.  And as a major natural resource for Africa, revenue from diamonds is transforming the lives of its people for the better.

See:

www.debeersgroup.com/kimberleyprocess

http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/

In 2007, De Beers produced 51.1 million carats, maintaining the record production achieved in 2006. 

Global diamond production figures can be found on the Kimberley Process Rough Diamond Statistics web site.

Extensive independent consumer research demonstrates that people want the real thing: specifically research shows that people want diamonds and that machine-made synthetics are not a substitute.

People often buy diamonds to mark significant milestones and achievements in their lives and for these purchases only diamonds will satisfy the consumers’ need. 

Furthermore, De Beers is confident that synthetics will not have the same emotional and financial value as diamonds because the value of diamonds is inextricably linked to how they were naturally formed billions of years ago.

De Beers believes that the vast majority of synthetics will be manufactured for industrial drill bits and abrasives.  The manufacturing process means a potentially limitless supply of synthetic material which can be used to meet other exciting technical applications, such as laser technology, medical and scientific equipment.

De Beers would like to reassure consumers that they can continue to feel confident when buying a diamond.  Synthetics can be quickly and easily detected and there are a number of additional industry safeguards in place to ensure consumers are not misled, including guidelines which require jewellers to clearly identify them. 

Through the DTC Diamond Best Practice Principles, the De Beers Group has shown its commitment to industry-wide effective disclosure of synthetics, simulants and treated diamonds.

The DTC hosts ten sales of rough diamonds a year, called ‘Sights’.  These occur simultaneously in London and Kimberley, usually once every five weeks. 

At these sales, the DTC’s customers physically inspect their allocations of rough diamonds before deciding whether or not to purchase them. 

Customers literally have ‘Sight’ of the diamonds, and this is why these selling periods are called ‘Sights’.  The DTC does not sell rough diamonds other than at the Sights.

There are also Sights held at our Government JV partnership DTCs in Botswana and Namibia.

See:

www.debeersgroup.com/sales-and-distribution

A Sightholder is a customer of the DTC, and is supplied with rough diamonds according to its terms and conditions of supply.  To purchase rough diamonds from the DTC, a company must be a Sightholder.

The DTC commenced a new 3 year contract period 31st March 2008 with its newly selected list of 79 Sightholders.

The DTC awards fixed-term supply contracts as a result of an open and competitive application process.  An applicant qualifies for supply as a DTC Sightholder following assessment against the DTC's objective selection process, taking into account the following: 

Assessment:         .
The extent to which a Sightholder and/or potential Sightholder satisfies the DTC “Sightholder Criteria” compared with other applicants for the same goods.

Application:          
The precise categories and quantities of rough diamonds for which a Sightholder or a potential Sightholder intends to apply.

Availability:           
The DTC’s forecast availability of these categories of rough diamonds over the course of a contract period.

Applications from non-Sightholders for direct supply will next be considered in mid 2010.  Interested applicants will then have the chance to compete with the 79 existing Sightholders for supplies of the particular categories of rough diamonds they require. 

New applicants and existing Sightholders are assessed on exactly the same basis.