At the recent JCK Show ~ Las Vegas, BHP Billiton unveiled its “Canada Mark,” a new girdle insignia that will signify to consumers that their diamonds are of Canadian origin.

The mark supplements retailers’ and wholesalers’ Canadian diamond brand programs. It is not meant to overpower the brand, BHP says, but to act as a mark of assurance, like the wool symbol on clothing.

Like the Diamond Trading Company’s Forevermark, the new brand is a stylized representation of the octahedron, the crystal form of diamond.

BHP is the operator of Canada’s Ekati mine, but executives say the mark also could be used by the new Canadian mine, Diavik.