Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • February 2000 (Revised September 2002)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law

By: Debora L. Spar and Jennifer Burns
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:25
ShareBar

Abstract

For over a century, the international diamond market has been dominated by one of the most successful cartels on earth. Run by the legendary De Beers Corp., the cartel has managed to keep diamond prices increasing and to prevent the defection that dooms most other "orderly marketing arrangements." It has also managed to uphold one of the greatest marketing coups of history: convincing millions of customers that diamonds are actually rare and therefore highly prized. There is only one problem for the cartel. It is illegal in the United States (the world's largest market for gem diamonds) and has been under constant attack by the U.S. Justice Department. The case describes how De Beers has dealt with this problem in the past and how, in the late 1990s, changes in the African political situation and the world diamond market may suggest a new relationship with the U.S. government.

Keywords

Lawfulness; Monopoly; Luxury; Business and Government Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Mining Industry; Africa; United States

Citation

Spar, Debora L., and Jennifer Burns. "Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law." Harvard Business School Case 700-082, February 2000. (Revised September 2002.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Debora L. Spar

General Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • February 2000 (Revised September 2002)
    • Faculty Research

    Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law

    By: Debora L. Spar and Jennifer Burns
Related Work
  • Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law By: Debora L. Spar and Jennifer Burns
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College