Inspirational insights

Blogs in the spotlight

Diamonds appeal to the imagination. They are rare and unique, and buying a diamond is a token of genuine love. "Diamonds are forever", remember? That's the tagline De Beers used to make diamonds popular. In 1947, the giant of the diamond world launched the slogan to promote diamond engagement rings. It was named slogan of the century in 1999. You can find out all about young Cecil Rhodes here: imperialist, clever businessman ahead of his time, and founder of De Beers, the largest diamond company in the world. 

Browse our best-selling diamond jewellery

 

Read more below

Most viewed diamond jewels

 

De Beers Centenary Diamond

Replica of the Centenary Diamond in the De Beers diamond collection
The Centenary Diamond belonging to the De Beers collection is the fourth largest diamond ever found in the Premier mine in South Africa. The diamond was unveiled on 11 May 1988 at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of De Beers. The diamond's value was estimated at 70 million euros in 2017, because of its unique features.

Carat weight, colour and clarity of the Centenary Diamond

The De Beers diamond is totally colourless
The rough diamond was the size of an egg and weighed 599 carats. The Antwerp gemcutter Gabriel Tolkowsky then produced a stunning diamond of 273.88 carats. The Centenary Diamond is not only unique for its weight, but also for its colour and clarity. It is one of the clearest diamonds of its size. It is also flawless. This is rare in ordinary diamonds, let alone for a diamond weighing 599 carats.

Where does the story of De Beers diamond dealers begin?

Just as diamonds come a long way, from 150 km below the earth's surface, to become the jewel you eventually purchase, diamond giant De Beers has also come a long way. Although that story does not start 3.3 billion years ago. We go back to the year 1870 for the founding of De Beers diamonds. That year, 17-year-old Cecil Rhodes, an English vicar's son with a heart and lung condition, moved to South Africa. His brother Herbert owned a cotton farm in Natal, a British colony, where Cecil started work. The land was unsuitable for cotton, however, and the venture failed.
Fortunately, South Africa has more to offer than just cotton
Cecil Rhodes, founder of De Beers
The South African earth also contained diamonds. A few years earlier, 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs had found a white stone at the Orange River in Hopetown. Nobody around him realised it was a diamond. Only later did a friend of his neighbour discover that his toy was a diamond weighing 21.25 carats.

The Rhodes brothers and their first steps in the diamond industry

The Orange River where De Beers discovered their first diamonds
The Rhodes also caught diamond fever and in 1871 decided to try their luck in Kimberley (then still called New Rush). They earned a reasonable living renting and selling water pumps to miners. With a large part of the income, Cecil began systematically buying up farmers' claims and investing in mining like a proper businessman.

He also bought the prospect at the Orange River, from two brothers, Johannes and Diederik De Beer. Although the De Beer brothers had found diamonds on their land, as devout Christians, they showed no interest in them. They did not want to be swept along by diamond fever and decided to sell their land.
The diamonds were on the De Beers land before the windfall came
The wide availability of diamonds caused overproduction and the diamond market collapsed. At that time, diamonds could be purchased for the same price as semi-precious stones such as topaz or turquoise. This worked out well for the De Beers marketing strategy. The company wanted to create scarcity to control the price of diamonds. Many mine owners could barely keep their heads above water, and Rhodes was able to take advantage of this.

Rhodes wanted to merge all companies in the South African diamond sector, in order to maintain a fixed, high price. He succeeded in 1888 and was made head of De Beers Consolidated Mines. In order to manage the supply better, he created other fake companies. Rhodes' monopoly caused quite a stir among the

miners.

By 1890, De Beers controlled 90 percent of global diamond production. This also brought the company political power. When a large diamond was found a year later, the miners demanded first refusal on purchasing it. The prime minister set up a commission, which favoured De Beers as the best buyer. No great surprise, since the prime minister was none other than Cecil Rhodes.

De Beers after the Rhodes brothers

Rhodes achieved a great deal in his final years. He established "The Diamond Syndicate", for example, in order to control diamond prices. In 1902, Rhodes suffered a heart attack at the age of 48. De Beers progressed and continued to grow.

The 4Cs were officially created in 1939 by De Beers and GIA. The 4 Cs stand for colour, carat weight, clarity and cut and is regarded as the standard for measuring the quality of a diamond.

In 1947, the slogan 'A diamond is forever' was born - for an advertisement for diamond engagement rings. This led to strong sales growth because the diamond became the symbol of true love.

Browse BAUNAT engagement rings here

The impact De Beers has on the price of diamonds

De Beers diamonds controlled the diamond market
Thanks to the monopoly enjoyed by De Beers, they have had control over the diamond market for a long time. They were able to raise or lower the price with minimum effort. They changed their strategy in 2000, due to market forces and the focus on blood diamonds. The diamond giant wanted to avoid negative publicity, so sold only its own products. Their market share fell to 33 percent in the face of increased competition.

The end of the De Beers era

Due to fierce competition from other dealers such as BAUNAT, De Beers had to modify its strategy. They developed a new brand, with synthetic diamonds. The lower price appeals to younger customers in particular. In addition, they also focus more on retail jewellery, especially in China.

With brands such as BAUNAT, you can be confident you're not buying synthetic diamonds, or even blood diamonds. BAUNAT buys its diamonds directly from the source, eliminating intermediaries and enabling us to offer jewellery online 30% to 50% cheaper.

Why buy diamonds from BAUNAT?

So, why is it best to buy diamond jewellery from BAUNAT? Firstly, we only work with the highest-quality materials. For the precious metals, this means 18 carat gold and 950 platinum. The diamonds and other precious stones are of course of the highest possible quality.

We also offer a designed to order service, starting out from a budget of €4,000. Working with our experts you can design diamond jewellery entirely how you want it. If you have any questions about our jewellery or about certain styles and trends, our experts are always on hand to give advice.

Browse our diamond jewellery collections

Find out about other famous diamonds

It is beyond doubt that De Beers has had a significant impact on the diamond industry. With their stunning icon, the Centenary Diamond, they have long been an established figure. If you would like to know more about other important diamonds, read on below.
Share on:
SABINA NURBEKOVA