De Beers is stressing that its two tests of the “Forevermark” in Asia are just pilot projects, and the company has not decided how it will use the icon.

The “Forevermark” is the diamond-shaped emblem that appears at the end of all De Beers’ commercials. De Beers has said it wants the symbol to be a “co-brand” for sightholders.

In the test, six stores in Hong Kong and Japan carry stones inscribed with the mark. (See “De Beers Testing ‘Forevermark’,” JCK, February 2002, p. 52.)

“[The tests] are very small in scale,” says Jonathon Pudney of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) marketing department. “They will last for six months. The DTC, like many other companies in the industry, believes that consumer confidence in diamonds is a prerequisite for a healthy diamond industry. The next step will be to evaluate those results before any further action is taken.”

He cautions that the company had no specific plans for the Forevermark. “As we move forward we are, of course, mindful of the various issues that any activity could have and will not take any steps without consulting the industry,” he says.

Pudney says De Beers’ establishment of a Web site (www.forevermark.com) “does not reflect any plan to use the Forevermark.”