For over a century, the international diamond market has been dominated by one of the most successful cartels on the ground. Run legendary corporation De Beers, the cartel has managed to keep diamond prices rising, and to prevent the escape, which dooms most other "orderly marketing." He also managed to defend one of the greatest marketing coups of history: convincing millions of customers that diamonds are indeed rare and therefore highly valued. There is only one problem for the cartel. This is illegal in the U.S. (the world's largest market for diamond jewelry) and is under constant attack by the U.S. Justice Department. The case describes how De Beers had to deal with this problem in the past, and how, in the late 1990s, changes in African political situation and the world diamond market to offer a new relationship with the U.S. government. "Hide
by Jennifer Burns, Debora L. Spar Source: HBS Premier Case Collection 25 pages. Publication Date: February 1, 2000. Prod. #: 700082-PDF-ENG
Related Case Solutions & Analyses:
Marketing in a Silo World: The New CMO Challenge
PSI: Social Marketing Clean Water
Carlton Polish Co.
FormPrint Ortho500
Competitive dynamics
How to Better Frame Problems
Webasto: Co-Creating Innovation with Lead Users
PV Technologies, Inc.: Were They Asleep at the Switch?
Pricing Games: Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox
The Ford Fiesta, Chinese Version
