Rapaport Group Says De Beers Destroying Transparency
June 19 2018 - 1:46PM
Business Wire
Claims De Beers Does Not Allow Clients to Disclose the Source
of Their Diamonds
The Rapaport Group has today issued a statement saying that De
Beers is destroying transparency in the diamond industry by not
allowing its clients to disclose the source of their diamonds. The
full text of the statement is available here.
The statement claims that “all De Beers’ rough diamonds are now
opaque. That’s 42% of the world’s legitimate diamond production in
2017, and $14.993 billion of rough diamonds from 2015 through
2017.”
The statement cites the De Beers “Sightholder Signature License
Agreement Clause 3.6.6: ‘you will not represent that any particular
diamond or diamonds are sourced, or originate, from us or any
member of the De Beers Group except with our prior written
consent.’” It also refers to a De Beers letter that states, “In
relation to programmes such as GIA’s ‘Mine to Market’ (M2M), or
other downstream entities’ initiatives seeking to make provenance
claims. We have declined all such requests.”
Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, said, “De Beers
is extending its market power from rough to polished markets
through exclusive polished distribution networks such as
Forevermark. They are making it impossible for independent third
parties to source-certify their diamonds, thereby disabling
legitimate diamond distribution systems. De Beers is using its
market power to restrain competition in the market for legitimate
source-certified polished diamonds.…
“With extensive human suffering in developing countries such as
Zimbabwe, the Congo and others, as well as billions of dollars of
diamonds not subject to human rights, AML and CTF compliance, the
Rapaport Group begs De Beers to do the right thing and allow its
clients to disclose the legitimacy of their diamonds.”
The Rapaport statement calls on De Beers to immediately cancel
its restrictions on disclosing the legitimate source of diamonds.
It asks all responsible members of the diamond industry to contact
De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver and request that De Beers end its
restrictions on source disclosure.
About the Rapaport Group:
The Rapaport Group is a global provider of added-value services
that support the development of ethical, transparent, competitive
and efficient diamond and jewelry markets. Established in 1978, the
Rapaport Price List is the primary source of diamond price and
market information. Group activities include Rapaport Information
Services, Rapaport Magazine and Diamonds.net, providing research,
analysis and news; RapNet – the world’s largest diamond trading
network; Rapaport Laboratory Services, providing GIA gemological
services in India, Belgium and Israel; and Rapaport Trading and
Auction Services, specializing in recycled diamonds and jewelry.
The Group supports over 20,000 clients in 121 countries and has
offices in New York, Las Vegas, Antwerp, Ramat Gan, Mumbai, Surat,
Dubai and Hong Kong. Additional information is available at
www.diamonds.net.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180619006200/en/
RapaportU.S.:Sherri Hendricks,
+1-702-893-9400orInternational:Alex Shine,
+1-718-878-5138media@diamonds.net