Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law

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.