DeBeers Diamond Syndicate Vows to Uphold Mission

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Setting-up shop on the Internet can be done with as much fanfare or as few frills as necessary said diamond company entrepreneur Marvin Rosenblatt.

"I could become the Wal-Mart of diamonds," he told Rapaport News, but he used the description to mean, "keep it simple, no frills, and [address] price as the primary concern." Operating costs online are low compared with brick-and-mortar, so Rosenblatt contends that not only is the web a place to "survive, but thrive."

For the time being though, Rosenblatt, president of the DeBeers Diamond Syndicate, vows to fight for his mission against De Beers in court. On June 2, 2006, United States District Court ruled that he could not use the name DeBeers to sell diamonds online. Rosenblatt plans to appeal the decision.

"I am disappointed in the result, of course, but the court did agree with me that the plaintiff, De Beers LV, did not show that the name DeBeers qualifies for protection under the famous marks doctrine," he said.

As part of Rosenblatt's defense it was argued that the United States' retail partnership De Beers LV, had not applied to use its name for selling diamonds. "The name DeBeers Diamond Syndicate was approved for publication by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office," he said.

As of press time De Beers would not comment on the case. When the issues are finally sorted out, Rosenblatt plans to move forward and has already purchased some 30 website addresses to use for his venture.

Rosenblatt considers that diamonds fit the definition of a commodity. "The commodity is what they are buying and not a luxury item...I don't care about the box, mine is a totally different concept," he said.

Diamonds increase in value and they are not easy to find, Rosenblatt said. In the long-term as the dollar grows more vulnerable to world economic pressures, he views the diamond as a basis for investment. "Diamonds have a good future and the markets will follow with investment funds."

Rosenblatt believes that the sales potential on the open market, using the Internet to sell diamonds, is between $10 million and $20 million the first year of full operations.

While Rosenblatt considers BlueNile is somewhat of a potential competitor, his operational model is more aligned to a wholesale business, which would offer diamonds to all buyers.

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