Talk:De Beers

I'm not sure if anyone else is having this problem, but the infoboxes at the top of the article are doing bad things. There are multiple solutions for this, but I don't know enough about templates to make appropriate suggestions. superluser_tc 2007 August 24, 09:26 (UTC)

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What is the point of mentioning that Oppenheimer was Jewish? Neither religion nor ethnicity of any other player in the De Beers saga is mentioned. How do we explain this? Why is it noteworthy? Ordinarily I fully understand the motivation of those identifying someone as Jewish out of context. I think the same is true here. Removed. Paul Beardsell (talk) 01:48, 8 December 2017 (UTC)

The article does not mention the convict labour used by de beers, starting in 1884. I checked the archived discussion, and saw some mention of it. As far as I can understand it was taken down, most probably due to the questionable 10000 number. I think it is an important topic to be mentioned hence I found a trustworthy publication on the topic: "Convict labour, industrialists and the state in the US South and South Africa, 1870–1930" William H. Worger 2006 Journal of Southern African Studies Vol 30, Pages 63-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305707042000223942 Relevant part from the paper:

At much the same time that corporations in Alabama were largely monopolising the use of state and county prisoners for work in Birmingham mines, Cecil Rhodes was achieving an even tighter monopoly in the Cape Colony. During 1884 and 1885, using prison workers provided free of charge by the colonial administration, De Beers Consolidated Mines constructed a private prison large enough to house 300 inmates. Rhodes entered into negotiations with the Cape Colony government (of which he was an elected member) to secure ‘from time to time ... such able-bodied long sentenced native prisoners as they [De Beers] may require’. Agreement was reached on a two-year contract at the beginning of 1886. De Beers would be supplied with as many convicts as the company could accommodate so long as the number did not exceed 300, all to be chosen from African males whose sentences still had at least three months to run upon incarceration in the station. The company would not have to pay any fee for the convicts, but would have to bear all the costs of maintenance and surveillance. The civil commissioner for Kimberley (the senior civil servant), E. A. Judge, considered the contract of benefit to all involved. The prisoners would be ‘better housed, better fed, and better clad’ than the inmates of the Kimberley jail, De Beers would get reliable employees whose persons could be thoroughly searched to ensure that no diamonds were stolen, and the government would save ‘the expense of some 220 prisoners’, which was the average number incarcerated in the convict station during the first six months of 1886. With the contract signed on 1 January, the convict station opened immediately thereafter. The number of incarcerated rose steadily, averaging closer to 300 in 1887 and rising higher thereafter when De Beers entered into a new two-year contract in 1888 for an average of up to 400 convicts at any one time. Periodic renewals of the contract led to even greater increases in inmates with the daily average reaching over 1,000 by the late 1890s.

The references presented for this paragraph are from first-hand sources i.e. "the Memorandum of Agreement between De Beers and the colonial government" and the "superintendent reports of the De Beers Convict Station." I wanted to put the details here before editing because I am a non-user and there might be other considerations. But I honestly believe that there should be a section about this also using other sources which exist in the form of books. e.g. Stones of Contention: A History of Africa’s Diamonds, Todd Cleveland; South Africa's City of Diamonds: Mine Workers and Monopoly Capitalism in Kimberley, 1867-1895, William H. Worger 85.53.252.8 (talk) 17:12, 29 December 2018 (UTC)

Part of an edit requested by an editor with a conflict of interest has been implemented.

I have some suggestions for improving this page. I have a WP:COI as a consultant for WhiteHatWiki, which was hired by the subject of this article. Thanks.

1. In the History section, beneath the Oppenheimer control subsection, please replace the third sentence of the first paragraph:

Change from:

Its owner^[who?] refused to join the De Beers cartel.^[1][2]

Change to:

Its owner, Thomas Cullinan, refused to join the De Beers cartel.^[2]

Reason: Fixing the unsupported attribution notated in the sentence by adding name of owner, which is supported by source 30. I’ve removed source 29 because it does not support any aspect of the sentence.

2. In the History section, beneath the 21st-century changes, please remove the fifth paragraph:

Change from:

In 2020, the De Beers Company released a statement of a values change, promising the world that it is committed to not using slave labor within the company.^[3]

Reason: First, this is a WP: Primary source, which is not appropriate from a topic requiring interpretation. Next, the paragraph gives the impression that De Beers released a statement on this topic for the first time in 2020. De Beers has published such statements annually since the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was passed: . Singling out one such statement from 2020 is misleading especially because this is a Primary. I could not find secondary sources about the Act that mention De Beers. At present, there are 32,995 companies listed on the modern slavery statement registry: .

3. In the History section, beneath the Marketing subsection, please rewrite the fifth paragraph:

Change from:

In May 2025, De Beers announced the discontinuation of the Lightbox brand, citing challenges in competing with the increasingly low prices of lab-grown diamonds and shifting market dynamics.^[4]

Change to:

In May 2025, De Beers announced the discontinuation of the Lightbox brand as part of cost-cutting measures.^[4]

Reason: The existing sentence isn’t supported by the source. The article reports that De Beers confirmed it would shut down Lightbox as part of cost-cutting measures, but it does not say the company cited challenges related to pricing or market dynamics. That inference is made by the journalist indirectly (it happened “at a time when…” such and such is happening), not a statement by the company, as the Wikipedia page incorrectly states.

4. In the Operations section, beneath the De Beers London subsection, please replace the Institute of Diamonds sub subsection:

Change from:

The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) was set up by De Beers in 2008, with the aim of providing a range of services and equipment in the field of diamond verification. It is based in London, Antwerp and, from 2015, in Surat, India. The IIDGR works only on diamonds that meet the requirements of the United Nations' World Diamond Council Kimberley Process.^{[citation needed]}

Change to:

Originally founded as The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) in 2008, the Institute of Diamonds (IoD) provides grading and verification diamond education courses. As of 2019, the IoD had campuses in London, Antwerp and Surat, India.^[5]

Reason: Rewriting to provide the needed citation and updating to reflect the name change of the IIDGR. I could not find an independent source to support information about the Kimberley Process, so have removed.

5. In the History section, beneath the Corporate affairs subsection section, please rewrite the third paragraph:

Change from:

In May 2018, De Beers's group company Element Six launched a lab-grown diamond brand to sell jewellery directly to consumers.^[6]

Change to:

In May 2018, De Beers's group introduced a brand called Lightbox Jewelry to sell lab-grown diamonds that were produced in partnership with Element Six,^[7] a subsidiary of De Beers.^[8]

Reason: The existing sentence isn’t supported by the source. I’ve rewritten according to what can be verified by the CNBC article, which states: “...a new De Beers firm called Lightbox Jewelry will sell laboratory-made diamonds… The lab-made versions marketed by De Beers will come from an exclusive partnership with United Kingdom-based Element Six…” I have added a NYT source to clarify that Element Six is a De Beers subsidiary.

Thank you for your review. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 15:52, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

There's obviously a lot of motivation for these changes. I'll just look at (3), the Lightbox closure. You're concerned there's no actual link between decreasing lab prices and the closure. Here's a source that directly quotes De Beers: "The persistently declining value of lab-grown diamonds in jewelry underscores the growing differentiation between these factory-made products and natural diamonds... Overall, we expect both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further in the jewelry sector". The preceding article lends support to it as well, as does this JCK editorial and this one. Even this literal press release from De Beers seems to back that up. I think I'll go edit that section now. tedder (talk) 19:13, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

You're doing original research WP:OR. None of the sources you added say that De Beers sold Lightbox "because the company was choosing to compete in the luxury Veblen good space of mined diamonds." It's speculation and should not be stated as true in the voice of Wikipedia. Closing a company could have a rationale completely different than concurrent market conditions. You've also added a WP:SYNTH which makes it difficult to determine which sentences are meant to be supported by which sources. And of the sources you added, two are dead links. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 21:01, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

You're right, "choosing" implies action. I'll adjust that. You'll have to itemize the dead links- I didn't add any that are dead, though they may be paywalled. tedder (talk) 22:31, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

If "choosing" implies action, so too does "positioning itself." But that's not really the issue. The problem is still WP:OR. You've added: "With prices of lab-grown diamonds continuing to fall, De Beers announced the discontinuation of the Lightbox brand in May 2025, positioning itself in the luxury Veblen good space of mined diamonds." This is an editorial inference about De Beers’ intent, built by combining lab grown prices falling; Lightbox shutting down; and the concept of “Veblen goods.” You have not cited a source that can support this conclusion. You've also introduced vague wording ("continuing to fall") and jargon ('luxury Veblen good space"). Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 23:10, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

I gave five links showing the link between Lightbox and falling lab grown prices above. There are quotes in the ref for Verblen.

I'm comfortable with it. I've left the "edit request" template above so other editors will come by and look at this. tedder (talk) 23:37, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for leaving it for others to consider as well. But "five links showing the link between X and Y" is a hallmark of WP:OR and WP:SYNTH. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 23:42, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

The links have literal quotes from the CEO making that connection. tedder (talk) 23:58, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

@Brucemyboy1212 courtesy ping

Article by Forbes that Lightbox was closed that specifically cites the sinking cost of lab-grown diamonds as a reason. I've added the linked source to article. Not really much else to say, the current version of that section should stay up. Closing the COI ER as I addressed all the other requested changes. Feel free to make another COI ER! - Otherwise (Talk?) 02:32, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

• Request 1) Done Non controversial name change and sourced
• Request 2) Partly done: Instead of removing the segment, I expanded it, explaining its relation to the UK Modern Slavery act and sourced it with reliable sources. Also explained it isnt the only press release of its kind.
• Request 3) Not done: See thread above for details.
• Request 4) Partly done: The source you linked makes it clear that the IIDGR rebranded as the De Beers Industrial Services with IoD being a sub group. updated content to that end.
• Request 5) Partly done: Content is already mentioned earlier in the article so I just moved relevant info to the earlier mention and deleted the rest.

- Otherwise (Talk?) 02:24, 1 February 2026 (UTC)