The Diamond Journey

De Beers London is the only luxury jewellery house with a direct connection to the source of our diamonds.

This means we not only have privileged access to the most beautiful stones, but we also have an unparalleled understanding of where our diamonds come from and who is involved in their journey.

All our diamonds are natural and ethically sourced

For over 20 years, we have monitored every step of the diamonds’ journey. Our Best Practice Principles encompass over 300 strict ethical sourcing standards, including those that guard against child labour, forced labour, and other human rights abuses. These industry-leading standards are in place throughout the diamonds’ journey from earth to jewel, and our compliance is independently verified every year by third-party auditors.

Two decades on, we continue to set best practices for the industry, as well as provide peace of mind that our diamonds are certified conflict-free and as meaningful as they are beautiful. We also have a mandatory Pipeline Integrity Programme, which ensures that every De Beers diamond, including melee, is separated from other gems throughout its journey and traceable to source. This removes any risk of dilution from other sources, including undisclosed treated diamonds or synthetics. All Programme participants are also independently verified each year by third-party auditors, providing assurance of the De Beers London diamond journey.

Every De Beers London diamond is inscribed with the De Beers Marque: a guarantee that it is natural, untreated and sourced to our exacting ethical standards.

Origins of our diamonds

We source our diamonds from De Beers mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, and South Africa. The operations are run in partnership with governments or locally owned entities. This ensures that diamond-producing countries benefit as much as possible, supporting local and national economies through jobs, healthcare, education, and infrastructure. We also source diamonds through our GemFair programme, which works with artisanal miners in Sierra Leone, providing training, safety equipment, and access to fair and transparent routes to market. On rare occasions—such as for fancy coloured diamonds or exceptional pieces—we work with approved suppliers, who are carefully vetted according to our Responsible Sourcing Policy.

Rough diamond sorting

Rough diamonds from De Beers Group mines are sorted by highly trained experts, alongside the latest technology, into over 12,000 categories according to characteristics such as colour and clarity.

These categories are designed to meet the diverse needs of our manufacturing partners - to ensure they receive the best possible rough material to craft into their final polished pieces.

Cutting and Polishing

We partner with the world's most talented diamond cutters and polishers to transform our diamonds.

They provide exceptional craftsmanship—from planning how to maximise their brilliance and beauty, to shaping and polishing, thoughtfully positioning every facet to achieve rare visual perfection. Every entity involved is committed to our Best Practice Principles and assessed by third-party experts. They are also required to adhere to our Pipeline Integrity Standards to ensure traceability and guarantee the provenance of every diamond.

Grading

Only the world’s most beautiful diamonds will appear in De Beers jewellery.

All our diamonds are thoroughly examined and tested in our specialist laboratories—the De Beers Institute of Diamonds in the UK and India—to verify, once again, that they are natural and untreated. Each diamond is then graded according to the 4C’s of diamonds (cut, colour, clarity, and carat): an internationally recognised assessment of the quality of a diamond and its cut.

At this point, loose diamonds are inscribed with the De Beers Marque. Smaller than the width of a human hair, it includes a unique identifying number corresponding to the diamond’s accompanying certificate.

Jewellery setting

The world’s most exceptional diamonds require exceptional craftsmanship.

We entrust our chosen diamonds to a carefully vetted network of specialist craftspeople who bring our exquisite designs to life. Each partner has specific skills that lend unique artistry to our creations. These partners are also committed to complying either with our annual Best Practice Principles Programme or being certified against the Responsible Jewellery Council's Code of Practices to ensure that rigorous ethical, environmental, and social standards continue to be upheld throughout our diamonds' journey.

Traceability and transparency

Every diamond we source follows a rigorously controlled journey, ensuring consistency and accountability from origin to client. Through Tracr—our industry-leading traceability platform – we are now able to further advance our provenance offering by tracing the diamonds we source back to the original mine. This advancement strengthens our commitment to responsible and ethical sourcing at every stage, from the original mine to the moment it becomes part of a client’s story.

De Beers has a long history of conservation: we opened our first nature reserve in South Africa over a century ago. Our ongoing conservation efforts preserve precious flora and fauna at our operations and beyond, including southern Africa’s Okavango Basin.

As the only luxury diamond house with a direct connection to source, we see the meaningful impact our diamonds create everyday.

Throughout the long history of De Beers, as a Group we have been deeply intertwined with local communities and local habitats in our partner countries.