The Diamond Manufacturers & Importers Association of America is pleased the De Beers antitrust suit has finally wrapped up, the group said in a statement.
Payments to direct purchasers—those who bought rough from Diamdel and its competitors—were mailed on July 26. Checks to trade and consumer claimants had been mailed previously.
“Matters like these take a long time to be resolved,” said DMIA president Ronnie VanderLinden in a statement. “Although it took a while, those that had the claims approved are happy to receive the funds. It also signifies the end of an era.”
Association past president Ronald Friedman added: “The DMIA had played a significant role in bringing the suit to a successful conclusion by filing papers in favor of the settlement in the appeal by objectors.”
The DMIA statement included a quote from July 2012 JCK from De Beers’ director of communications David Prager.
“This normalizes business for De Beers in America,” he said. “If you think about the past century, this is a milestone moment.”
“We have clearly not jumped into America with both feet, and we have resisted contracting with American companies,” Prager continued. “When you have normalized business in the States, a lot of those things fall away and you have a lot more opportunities.”
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