The Forevermark promise

They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend: rare, precious, and reliable. Forevermark, a division of the De Beers conglomerate, embodies this ideal with its incomparable diamonds, which break new ground with respect to the four basic diamond-grading criteria, known as the four Cs: colour, cut, clarity, and carats (for purity). Of all the diamonds in the international marketplace, less than 1% qualifies for Forevermark certification. The brand uses a rigorous control process to guarantee the natural provenance of each diamond and employs responsible extraction practices that do not involve any conflict zones. After undergoing these mandatory checks, a diamond finally receives the Forevermark seal of approval.

Forevermark diamonds have a special place in the hearts of women, not just for their beauty but also for the positive benefits they bestow upon the women who harvest them. As a division of the De Beers conglomerate, Forevermark helps women in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia by providing them access to health care and education, as well as career opportunities and professional training for fields such as mining, geology, engineering, the jewellery trades, and management. De Beers has taken it upon itself to ensure these women are looked after, thanks to three programs providing protection, support and a better standard of living. The Zimele fund has enabled the creation of over 1,175 jobs related to agriculture, food distribution, jewellery and other sectors, with women holding over one third of those jobs. In 2014, the program supported 62 small and medium-sized companies in South Africa. That same year, another fund, Tokafala, was launched to support entrepreneurs. It helped create more than 600 jobs in Botswana and aims to assist over 1,000 companies over the next three years. De Beers’ third project, the Namdeb foundation, helps mining communities and employment in Namibia.

Besides these remarkable programs, De Beers supports its employees and mining communities struggling with HIV/AIDS or diseases such as tuberculosis, through support activities, treatments, and prevention measures. As well, it encourages students in mining and related sectors to pursue higher learning through programs such as the Khula weekend school in South Africa, which makes it possible for students to get the good grades they need to qualify for a university education. The school has become a symbol of success thanks to a 100% graduation rate and
its many students achieving grades above 90%.

Yet Forevermark is not content to help women lead more fulfilling lives. The brand is extremely rigorous in the exploration and inspection of its diamonds. Mandatory tracking, certification and guarantee statements – everything is put in place to comply with the stringent requirements of the Kimberley Process, an international control system implemented by De Beers to eradicate trade in diamonds from war zones. As a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, Forevermark is particularly mindful of human rights, the political climate and socioeconomic conditions, and maintains responsible business practices with respect to worker rights, mining practices, environmental footprint and product claims. Forevermark inspects each diamond at least five times and uses advanced technology to ensure no diamond has been treated or otherwise altered to improve its appearance. Integrity is a fundamental brand value and all diamonds must be 100% natural. Foreverbrand ensures the upholding of this integrity by keeping a database that ensures no tampering is possible. As a final bulwark, the Société Générale de Surveillance, or SGS, the world’s third-largest independent verification company, inspects the diamonds at least once a year.

The protection of natural resources is another core value of Forevermark. Diamonds embody nature’s most precious treasures, after all. To this end, for each acre of land used for mining, De Beers sets aside five acres as nature preserves and develops within these areas flourishing ecosystems with typical regional flora and fauna. All told, De Beers reserves about 444,790 acres of such land around its mines. The Jwaneng mine, in Botswana, operates a 42,008-acre Game Park that is home to more than 1,700 animals, as well as a bureau for the preservation of Botswana’s cheetahs. De Beers also owns and co-finances the Diamond Route, a network of nine sites across South Africa with tremendous ecological wealth and biodiversity that cover roughly 250,000 hectares, all set aside for preservation of their resources, fauna and natural habitats.

So...Diamonds, a girl’s best friend? They are much more than that. A Forevermark diamond, besides being a friend for life, contributes to good initiatives, helps preserve the world and those living in it, and is eternally genuine and untainted by anything synthetic. It embodies all that is authentic, and that’s exactly the kind of best friend we’re all looking for.