De Beers has a history of continuous reinvention
From 1888 to today, take a moment to reflect on the transformational role De Beers has played at key moments through history.
Explore our history
1871
Following a period of diamond prospecting in the Vaal River area of South Africa, the De Beers mine is discovered in May 1871 and the Kimberley mine in July 1871. The latter will become the world’s richest mine for nearly a century.
1888
Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato, who were running competing diamond operations, join forces. De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited is established on 12 March 1888. Rhodes is named Chair and continues in this role until 1902.
1902
The Premier mine, near Pretoria, is discovered. It will ultimately produce a higher number of large gem diamonds than any other mine.
1926
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer is elected to the De Beers Board after Anglo American, the company he founded, becomes a major shareholder in De Beers.
1928
Diamond cutting comes to South Africa when the first African cutting factory in Kimberley is opened.
1932
As the Great Depression deepens, demand for diamonds stalls and all De Beers mines close.
1939
De Beers' first ever advertising campaign launches in the USA.
1940
World War II engulfs Europe, and all De Beers mines close again. In Tanzania, Dr John Williamson, a Canadian geologist, establishes the Williamson mine, later famous for its pink diamonds.
1947
Frances Gerety, a young copywriter at N W Ayer advertising agency, creates the timeless slogan, ‘A diamond is forever’. Fifty years later, it's still recognised as the greatest advertising tagline of the 20th century.
1960
De Beers begins its exploration programme in Canada.
1964
De Beers Auction Sales, trading as Diamdel, begins supporting non-sightholder businesses – companies without access to uncut diamond sales - with rough diamond supplies.
1967
A year after Botswana declares its independence, geologists discover the Orapa kimberlite pipe, the second largest diamond mine by area in the world. Kimberlite is one of the most important sources of mined diamonds and occurs in the Earth's crust in vertical structures known as pipes.
1969
De Beers joins the Government of the Republic of Botswana to establish Debswana, a 50-50 partnership, to develop the Orapa mine.
1972
Deep in the Botswana desert, geologists unearth a treasure buried 150 metres below the surface – the Jwaneng kimberlite pipe. It becomes the world’s richest diamond mine.
1981
De Beers opens a new Research and Development Centre in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
1983
De Beers Marine (Pty) Limited (Debmarine) is incorporated to provide the expertise for exploring and mining marine diamond deposits.
1987
De Beers Exploration discovers kimberlite in Northern Ontario and the site will eventually become Victor mine.
1992
Venetia mine opens in South Africa. It will become South Africa’s largest diamond mine.
1993
De Beers begins marketing and selling diamonds in the People’s Republic of China.
1994
De Beers joins the newly independent Republic of Namibia to form Namdeb, a 50-50 joint venture partnership, to mine the country’s diamonds.
1995
Highlighting the role of diamonds in marking life’s occasions, De Beers launches the iconic ‘Shadows’ campaign in the USA.
1997
De Beers launches prototypes of two complementary gem testing instruments, DiamondSure and DiamondView, to determine whether a gem diamond is natural or synthetic.
1998
De Beers announces plans to launch a new marketing programme through the inscription (‘branding’) of selected polished diamonds featuring the De Beers logo and an individual security number, to give customers greater confidence.
2000
The Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers widen their collaboration in mining Namibian diamonds. Namdeb and De Beers form a new free-standing company, De Beers Marine Namibia, which acquires four production vessels from De Beers Marine before expanding the fleet and developing its own production capacity.
2000
We welcome in the new millennium with the 203.04 carat De Beers Millennium Star diamond.
2001
De Beers and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the world’s leading luxury products group, form an independently managed and operated company. De Beers Diamond Jewellers is launched – an iconic brand that creates the finest diamond jewellery.
2002
The De Beers Industrial Diamonds group of companies (Debid) including Drukker International, is renamed ‘Element Six’.
2003
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is established to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. One hundred percent of De Beers diamonds are certified conflict-free.
2006
With the Government of the Republic of Botswana, De Beers establishes DTC Botswana, a company to sort and value Debswana production and support local diamond manufacturing.
2008
De Beers opens Snap Lake mine and Victor mine in Canada. De Beers Auction Sales and De Beers Forevermark are launched.
2012
De Beers becomes a member of the Anglo American plc Group.
2013
De Beers Global Sightholder Sales moves from London to Botswana. Element Six announces plans to open the world’s largest and most sophisticated laboratory-grown diamond research and development facility in Harwell, UK.
2015
The Diamond Producers Association is formed, which De Beers joins. The DPA is later renamed the Natural Diamond Council (NDC).
2016
Gahcho Kué mine in Canada opens as a joint venture between Mountain Province Diamonds and De Beers Canada.
De Beers signs a 10-year sales agreement with the Government of the Republic of Namibia for sorting, valuing and sales of Namdeb Holdings' diamonds - the longest agreement signed between the two parties.
2017
De Beers invests in blockchain technology to create a platform to track a diamond's path through the diamond value chain. De Beers joins UN Women, demonstrating its commitment to the advancement of women across the organisation. It also purchased LVMH’s stake in De Beers Jewellers, taking full ownership of the business.
2018
Lightbox Jewelry and GemFair launch. Lightbox uses laboratory-grown diamonds to create modern fashion jewellery, while GemFair provides a secure and transparent route to market for artisanal and small-scale diamond mining.
In the Moving Giants initiative De Beers partners with the Peace Parks Foundation to transport 200 elephants across 1,500 kilometres from the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) to the Zinave nature reserve in Mozambique to address capacity pressure on the VLNR.
2020
De Beers launches its Building Forever sustainability strategy – which underpins our efforts to create lasting, positive impact upon the people and places where diamonds are discovered.
2021
De Beers and National Geographic announce the ‘Okavango Eternal’ partnership to protect the headwaters of the Okavango Delta. The five-year commitment will support Africa’s endangered species, ensure water and food security for more than one million people and develop livelihood opportunities for 10,000 people.
2023
Tracr and Sarine Technologies, leaders in diamond provenance and traceability, collaborate to build a scalable, cost-effective solution for tracking diamonds from their source to the point of entry into G7 countries.
2025
De Beers and the Government of the Republic of Botswana sign agreements that will confirm our diamond partnership for the next generation. These transformational agreements will boost Botswana’s economic development potential and secure De Beers’ long-term share in the world’s greatest diamond resources.
