A Diamond Is Forever

 “A diamond is Forever” an iconic phrase that is recognized as the one of the best advertising lines in the 20th century. But who said it? The phrase was coined in 1947 by Frances Gerety advertising for De Beers. The world’s leading diamond company since 1888, De Beers is currently responsible for one third of the world’s rough diamond production. Some of the largest, highest quality diamonds have been sourced from De Beers mines. Such as the Centenary Diamond, a 273.85 carat D color Flawless diamond, and this 297-carat rough diamond held by Derek at De Beers headquarters London, England. Wait, what? Yeah, Derek and Jamie from Holliday Jewelry were invited to the headquarters of the world’s leading diamond supplier, of course it was an opportunity we couldn’t refuse.

Only 15 jewelers nationwide were invited to this very special opportunity to learn from the authorities in diamond sourcing and mining, and your very own Holliday Jewelry was among the invitees. Our success in bringing Klamath Falls hand selected diamonds from Antwerp Belgium has set us apart as diamond experts.

At Holliday Jewelry we strive to be highly educated, customer service driven and to bring the best to the Basin. Expanding our education horizons now includes time spent with the Executive team of De Beers. Understanding diamond recovery and sorting from the mine, how natural diamonds impact the environment and economies of the global market and the tools for separating mined and laboratory grown diamonds are just a part of what we experienced in London.

De Beers recovers 1/3 of the worlds mined diamond supply. They then sort the yield into 12,000 categories! It boggled our minds to think how much bigger the 4 C’s are before diamonds reach us. Derek and I had the opportunity to take small selections of rough diamonds and sort them based on shape, quality and color. Holding a piece of kimberlite (the host rock diamonds are brought to the surface in) gave us a picture of the beginnings of the beauty we see in our store every day. Personally, I would have played with the absolutely stunning “glassies” (well formed diamond crystals) for much longer than we had!

National Geographic and De Beers have aligned on a special project that aims to protect the Okavango Delta, a vast river delta in Northern Botswana. Advocating for protection of over 13 million acres of Africa’s most biodiverse areas through partnerships with scientists, government officials, photographers and wildlife experts.

By year 2030 De Beers aims to support four jobs to every job in diamond operations in diamond mining communities.  Other efforts include programs like Entreprenher, Gem Fair, Stanford Seed and Benefication that seek to ensure the positive impact of diamond mining beyond the life of the mine.

Our experience with the De Beers team reminded us where mined diamonds come from, the amount of expertise and work invested in their recovery, the global impact they have and the legacy that begins deep in the earth and continues through generations as diamonds are gifted for life’s most precious occasions.

We are honored to be Klamath Basin’s trusted source for all life’s jewelry gifting, (read: diamond), occasions.

Learn more about De Beers by visiting www.debeersgroup.com
Derek holing a 297 carat diamond octahedron
Jamie holding a kimberlite rock, the host material diamond is brought to the surface of the Earth in- complete with embedded diamond rough!