Canadian Diamond

[Greatcall]

Does anyone know of the Canadian brand Arctic Ice. It might be the old Eskimo Brand. I heard they come certified directly from the mine (I heard BHP actually certifies them).

 

[elmo]

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On 9/8/2003 10:46

1 AM Greatcall wrote:

Does anyone know of the Canadian brand Arctic Ice. It might be the old Eskimo Brand. I heard they come certified directly from the mine (I heard BHP actually certifies them).
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That would be someone with a vested interest issuing the certificate? I thought you'd call this fraud, Greatcall?

 

[Greatcall]

I think you misunderstood. What I meant by certification is that, they certify the goods origin. NOT THE CLARITY COLOUR OR CUT (i think they come with gia certs)

I WOULD NOT CALL THAT FRAUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[mike04456]

I have heard of "Arctic Fire & Ice," if that's what you mean. They are a Sirius brand (same as Polar Bear).

BHP recently launched certificate program where their diamonds are given what they call the "CanadaMark," as a certification of Canadian origin. Note that under Canadian government rules, a "Canadian diamond" merely has to have been mined in Canada; it can be cut and polished elsewhere. This is actually less strict than the US FTC rule, which states that a product must have been manufactured in a particular country of origin in order to be marketed as being a product of that country.

The marketing war swirling around Canadian origin is an interesting saga of diamond politics, and is one of the many recent events that have hammered De Beers's market share. Historically, De Beers has not tracked country of origin for its diamonds and has simply mixed their rough together for sorting into grades for quality, size, etc. While they have allowed some partners a portion of rough diamonds to foster local cutting industries, they have always insisted on supplying that portion from their general stockpile, in other words, not directly from the mine. So while there are local cutters in Botswana for example, they are cutting rough that came from London, not Botswana.

De Beers is trying to launch its own mine in Canada, but unfortunately, the locals--because of the market value of certified Canadian diamonds--are refusing to agree to this traditional arrangement. They want to cut their own diamonds, not De Beers's. De Beers is likewise refusing to budge because they don't want to set a precedent for their African partners, who will almost certainly howl in outrage if De Beers makes an exception for Canada. The dispute is threatening to derail the entire project, because De Beer has to have the approval of the native landowners to open the mine. This one is worth watching.

 

[Greatcall]

Thanks for the info. I checked some websites. This is not the same thing as the Sirius brand. I think it comes with a cert of origin from BHP (Canadamark).

 

[elmo]

Greatcall, it was a joke, a reference to posts you made in a different thread

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