De Beers wants diamonds to be Oscar’s best friend

“We can outdo anyone on huge rocks. But my dream would be to see two stars on the red carpet—one wearing rocks and the other wearing a De Beers piece of outstanding style,” said De Beers LV chief executive Alain Lorenzo.

The De Beers LV venture into the world of retail jewellery is designed to capitalise on De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd’s long reign as the controller of around 65 per cent of the world’s $8 billion market of rough, or uncut, stones from southern Africa, Russia, Australia and Canada.

It is the first time that the company that coined the marketing phrase ‘Diamonds are Forever’ has had its own collection of jewellery to sell, entering an upscale retail market dominated by Cartier, Tiffany and Bulgari.

The distinguishing factor for the new kid on the block, said Lorenzo, will be “outstanding diamonds with a fashion attitude.” High-end jewellery is still too often about designing formal pieces, which are intended for special occasions. We would like to attract customers (with) the kind of jewellery they require for great occasions but also trendy pieces that will make a statement about their personality and can be worn casually,” he said.

The new line, which went on sale in De Beers LV first store in London last month, ranges from small pendants starting at around $750, to diamond-studded leather chokers selling for $14,000 and delicate necklaces made up of some 2,000 pave diamonds selling for $105,000.

With the United States accounting for half of all global diamond jewellery sales, and with an eye to the Golden Globe awards on Sunday and the Oscars in March, De Beers LV threw a party on Wednesday for Hollywood stars headlined by actresses Julianne Moore and Salma Hayek.

Such red carpet events, televised around the world, provide designers with a powerful showcase for their gowns, shoes, and jewellery. Some observers estimate that close to 5,000 carats of diamonds adorn the bodies of Oscar nominees, presenters and female audience members on the day the awards are handed out. De Beers LV, like every other jeweller and fashion designer in town, has been courting potential Oscar and Golden Globe nominees for months in a bid to see its new designs gracing the neck of at least one high-profile star.

“One page of advertising in a magazine does not compare to one photograph of a star wearing our jewellery. It is impossible to put a price on that kind of publicity,” Lorenzo said.

Mere mortals however will have to travel to London to buy the new range, or wait until the end of the year for the opening of the Tokyo store, or until 2004 for the first US store in New York. Alas, you can’t buy the jewellery in Beverly Hills—yet. (Reuters)