Forevermark to Refocus as Jewelry Brand, Drop De Beers Name

De Beers’ Forevermark will cease supplying loose diamonds, in a shift toward becoming an India-focused jewelry label selling solely at its own branded stores.

The business will also move away from using the De Beers name, reversing a rebrand it carried out three years ago, executives from the miner said Tuesday in a letter to Forevermark partners. The transition will begin in April 2024 and be complete by January 2026.

“Forevermark has played an integral role in advancing the marketing and retailing of natural diamonds since its inception in 2008,” wrote Sandrine Conseiller, CEO of De Beers’ brands, and Paul Rowley, its executive vice president for diamond trading, in the letter. “As we continue to evolve the brand for a commercially successful future, we have decided that, from January 2026, Forevermark will be refocused only as a jewelry brand.”

Until now, the brand has mainly sold loose polished diamonds that have ended up in jewelry offered at retail. This will shift to Forevermark selling finished jewelry — a change similar to one the brand considered but rejected in 2022.

During the transition period, Forevermark jewelers will be able to buy and sell Forevermark loose diamonds and jewelry, noted David Johnson, head of strategic communication at De Beers.

In addition, from January 2026, Forevermark jewelry will be sold exclusively in franchised and wholly owned stores, rather than as items available inside other stores, Johnson told Rapaport News on Wednesday.

De Beers will initially develop the new model in India, “where we expect the commercial potential to be greatest,” Conseiller and Rowley added. After that, it will consider opportunities in other consumer markets, they said.

“There’s really strong recognition of the Forevermark name in India,” Johnson added. “It’s done really well as a brand there. There’s often a lot of interest in what Forevermark is doing in the country. It’s a place where we’re seeing good performance for consumer demand for natural diamonds generally.”

The transition away from using the De Beers name will begin in the coming months. The company has also appointed experienced consumer-brand executive Shweta Harit as Forevermark’s dedicated senior vice president to oversee the evolution.

The changes are part of De Beers’ wider review of its downstream activities, the outcome of which the company will reveal at the JCK Las Vegas show, which begins on May 31, Johnson explained.

De Beers launched Forevermark around the time it wrapped up its “A Diamond Is Forever” campaign, which signaled the end of its generic marketing efforts. It reintroduced the famous tagline last year, and the new De Beers strategy will include a larger focus on marketing diamonds as a category, Johnson said.

“We’ve been looking at our strategy across the De Beers business,” he said. “Part of that has been looking at our downstream and retail-facing activities and considering how best to progress in that direction.”

Johnson also said De Beers had no intention of selling Forevermark off.

“The focus throughout the [strategic] review has been on getting the right commercially successful proposition,” he continued. “We’ve looked at a range of options, but it’s a key part of our natural-diamond promotion and differentiation work.”

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Main image: A loose Forevermark diamond seen through a loupe. (Ben Perry/Armoury Films/De Beers)