De Beers’ origins can be traced back to Dutch brothers Diederik Arnoldus and Johannes Nicolaas de Beer, who found diamonds on their farmland in South Africa in the 1860s. Several ventures later, the pair established a company for the purpose of gemstone trading.
Over the following years, De Beers became one of the industry’s most revered and respected names and furthered gemstone exploration and innovation over the years. Today, the company has unparalleled expertise in the locating, mining, sorting, selling, grading and marketing of diamonds.
Working in some of the world’s most remote and challenging locations, De Beers’ exploration teams search for signs of kimberlite, the rock formation that contains diamonds. From the harsh Arctic winds of Canada to the deserts of Botswana, the company uncovers the earth’s most precious gemstones.
De Beers’ pioneering technology, aided by the latest research and equipment such as airborne geophysical surveys and seismic and magnetic readings, is helping its teams in southern Africa and Canada search meticulously for the next viable kimberlite pipe. This discovery will mark the first significant diamond deposit in over two decades.
The company is also actively searching across southern Africa for the region’s next diamond mine with cutting-edge tech that can pinpoint gemstones up to 1,000 feet below the earth’s crust.
De Beers leads the way in gemstone verification, too. Its UK-based diamond research and technological development centre is the world’s most advanced. Its team of scientists and engineers are continuously creating new methods for verifying and sorting diamonds, developing powerful technology that can detect any synthetic materials or treatments.
This commitment to quality is reflected in the company’s financials, too. Revenues for 2022 exceeded USD 6.5bn.
