De Beers – Harry & Co Jewellery

History and Foundation

De Beers Diamond Consortium is a South African-British corporation specializing in diamond mining, exploitation, retail, trading, and manufacturing.
Founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes, financed by Alfred Beit and N M Rothschild & Sons bank.
Ernest Oppenheimer, founder of Anglo American, joined the board in 1926 and built the company's global monopoly until his death in 1957.
De Beers Consolidated Mines was formed in 1888 by the merger of Barney Barnato and Cecil Rhodes' companies.

Ernest Oppenheimer became the local agent for the London Syndicate and understood the principle of making diamonds scarce to increase their value.
During World War I, the Premier Mine was absorbed into De Beers, and Ernest Oppenheimer took over the chairmanship in 1929.

In 2011, Anglo American acquired the Oppenheimer family stake, ending their 80-year control of De Beers.
De Beers expanded to several countries, including Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Portugal, Zambia, and Tanzania.
De Beers was criticized for profiting from the apartheid system.
De Beers attempted to enter the US diamond market in the 1960s and 1970s but divested its American assets in 1975.

De Beers conducted experimental work in the early 1930s, pioneering the use of diamond drills.
Ernest Oppenheimer opened the new headquarters in 1955, combining Anglo American and De Beers operations.
De Beers has faced controversies, including accusations of price fixing, trust behavior, and restricting US access to industrial diamonds during World War II.

De Beers successfully advertised diamonds as a symbol of love and commitment.
De Beers operates four mines in Botswana, four mines in Namibia, and mines in South Africa and Canada.
De Beers is involved in many parts of the diamond value chain, from mining to sales.
De Beers introduced a new brand called Lightbox in 2018, offering synthetic diamonds at a lower cost.

Reference	URL
Glossary	https://harryandcojewellery.com.au/blogs/glossary/de-beers
Wikipedia	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Beers
Wikidata	https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q471891
Knowledge Graph	https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0f21v