Sourcing

5 Shots from a Visit to a Diamond Mine

SourcingSep 02, 2016

5 Shots from a Visit to a Diamond Mine

The 17 inaugural members of the Forevermark Carat Club visited De Beers’ Victor mine in Canada last month.

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Members of the first Forevermark Carat Club examine rough diamonds during their recent trip to De Beers’ Victor mine in Canada.

Stamford, Conn.--Seventeen members of the industry recently were treated to an inside look at a Forevermark diamond’s journey from mine to polishing.

On Aug. 17, the inaugural members of the Forevermark Carat Club visited De Beers’ Victor mine in northern Ontario, Canada, to experience the journey of a Forevermark diamond first-hand.

Launched earlier this year, the Carat Club is for those who sold more than 20 carats of Forevermark diamonds that are 1 carat or larger last year. The trip to the Victor mine was part of their reward for becoming a member of the club.

During the visit, Carat Club members received training on the mine’s safety standards. After that, they also got to experience exactly how much effort goes into bringing the diamonds out into the open, touring the open-pit mine site and process plant, where more than 5.6 million carats have been recovered since Victor opened in 2008.

The tour ended with a viewing of some of Victor’s run-of-mine rough diamonds.

Approximately 35 percent of Victor employees are from local First Nation communities, which De Beers said is part of its commitment to sustainable development in the communities where it mines.

The company built ceremonial Shabatowans (traditional teepees) on-site at Victor so that Aboriginal employees can celebrate their heritage with traditional cultural ceremonies, which the members got to see.



After the group’s trip to the Victor mine, members flew to Sudbury to visit Crossworks Manufacturing’s cutting and polishing factory to see the next stops of a Forevermark diamond after mining.

Crossworks’ craftsmen cut and polished diamonds while Carat Club members learned about the process of cutting and polishing a diamond to Forevermark standards. The group also got to try their hands at the polishing wheel to understand the combination of touch, angle and rhythm needed to polish a facet on a diamond.

The 2017 Carat Club incentive program will run through the end of this year, with sales ambassadors required to sell 35 carats or more of 1-carat or larger Forevermark diamonds to qualify.

The top 20 will receive an exclusive trip to London to visit the Forevermark headquarters as well as visit the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels and experience a behind-the-scenes tour of the Forevermark Diamond Institute in Antwerp.
Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

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