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King of Diamonds

De Beers appoints new retail ceo as it eyes a return to the U.S. market

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De Beers L.V. (London), the joint venture between diamond supplier De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. (Kimberly, South Africa) and fashion brand LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (Paris), has named Guy Leymarie as its ceo.

Leymarie, a veteran of luxury retail and jewelry, will replace Alain Lorenzo who, the company said, is moving back to Paris to carry on new assignments on behalf of LVMH.

Leymarie held numerous management positions with Compagnie Financière Richemont SA (Geneva, Switzerland) as ceo of both its Dunhill and Cartier divisions.

“We welcome Guy Leymarie and are confident that he will continue to develop the De Beers brand and company to the next level with his great experience in jewelry and luxury retail,” said De Beers LV chairman Gary Ralfe. “The successful opening of our first stores in London and Japan is very promising for the future of the De Beers brand.”

De Beers, the renowned South American diamond miner, set up the joint venture with LVMH in 2002 with the aim of launching a chain of retail stores. In addition to its new outlets in London and Tokyo, it is seeking a presence in the U.S., which accounts for 50 percent of global jewelry sales. It has been absent the U.S. market for nearly 50 years, since the justice department filed a criminal lawsuit against it alleging that it fixed the price of industrial diamonds. The government filed a second suit in 1994, but De Beers has remained out of federal officials' reach. The company still advertises heavily in the U.S. and sells through intermediaries, but it does not have its own retail presence and De Beers executives could be detained if they travel to the U.S.

A De Beers spokeswoman would not comment on the progress of the talks but she said: “We are of course hopeful of a resolution with the justice department.”

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According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, De Beers has signaled that it could plead guilty and pay a fine to settle the charges in return for being allowed back into the country. Discussions, the report said, were at an “advanced stage.”

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