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In 1947 a young copywriter by the name of Frances Gerety coined the tagline “A Diamond is Forever”, and De Beers created what today we call the ‘Diamond Dream’. Today Botswana is a big part of that dream.
Nelson Mandela was sufficiently worried that the 2007 film ‘Blood Diamond’ would have a negative impact on those African economies which were reliant on diamond sales, that he reached out to Warner Brothers before its release.
So when Lucara Diamonds announced the recovery of a 2,492-carat diamond, what a fantastic opportunity for Botswana to go to the major diamond consuming markets and showcase exactly what Botswana and diamonds are really about.
Years ago I noticed a plaque hanging on the wall in a private equity group in Mayfair that read: “The Roman Empire wasn’t built by holding committee meetings; it was built by annihilating the opposition”. The same applies to lab grown diamonds.
Kodak never saw it coming either. Since early 2022, the price of polished natural diamonds has fallen by approximately 40% and the industry is being buffeted by negative economic headwinds. "Fake" diamonds are cheaper than "real" ones.
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