De Beers Expanding Forevermark to Singapore, the Caribbean & Mexico

De Beers is taking its Forevermark brand to Singapore, selected islands in the Caribbean, Mexico and India before the end of 2010, the company announced Wednesday. The brand had more than $150 million in retail sales in the last 18 months and is available in 294 stores across Asia.

Forevermark is a brand that De Beers developed on a small scale a number of years ago and that has been recently expanded. Diamond from De Beers are earmarked for the brand and sold to participating Sightholders that polish the goods under strict guidance. The diamonds are later marked with a serial number and the Forevermark logo.

According to De Beers, leading independent auditor Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) inspects and monitors every Forevermark partner to ensure compliance the standards on a regular basis. This ongoing process ensures that the Forevermark supply chain is deemed responsible at every stage and Forevermark’s Pipeline Integrity is preserved and maintained.

Forevermark selected Forevermark Jewellers in each market to ensure these standards are maintained. In Singapore, Forevermark will be available from Aspial and Lee Hwa stores. Diamonds International in the Caribbean and Mexico will exclusively retail Forevermark diamonds and diamond jewelry in seven stores. Diamonds International is currently the largest fine jewellery retailer in the Caribbean.

Forevermark has had a presence in India since late 2009. De Beers is currently in discussions with a number of retailers with the intention of appointing Authorized Forevermark jewelers before the end of the year.

According to Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier, “‘we launched Forevermark little more than two years ago with the goal of becoming the world’s leading diamond brand.

“We wanted to develop a brand that not only defines quality and integrity within the diamond industry but that also inspires leading independent jewellery manufacturers and retailers to create precious and exciting diamond jewellery. We believe that growing into these new and vibrant markets is bringing us closer to realizing that goal.”