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07 Oct 2014RETAIL: Forevermark Now Available in Botswana
Recent Gauteng Business News
Caratco is one of the largest diamond companies in South Africa, and their operations include manufacturing, wholesale and retail. Jewel Africa is Caratco’s retail brand; their high-end stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg are flagship Forevermark showrooms, loved by tourists from all over the world. Passionate about diamonds and passionate about Africa, Jewel Africa is one of South Africa’s premier destinations for international tourists seeking to purchase Forevermark diamonds. Botswana is a natural progression for Caratco’s expansion with Forevermark, following the launch at Sunstar Diamonds in Windhoek, Namibia, last year.
The new Caratco Jewel Africa outlet in Botswana will only sell Forevermark diamonds and Tanzanite, which can be bought loose or set in jewellery, and is located in the International Departure Lounge of Maun International Airport in Maun, Botswana.
Maun airport is a tourist route towards Botswana’s unique Okavango delta, various nature reserves and the Kalahari Desert, welcoming countless numbers of tourists every year meaning the new Jewel Africa outlet is perfectly positioned to meet the tourist demand in and out of Botswana. Considered the safest country to visit in Africa, the tourism industry in Botswana accounts for over 13% of GDP and receives over 2.3 million tourists annually.
There is a big demand for Forevermark diamonds internationally as every Forevermark diamond is inscribed with a promise; a promise that it is beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced. Less than one per cent of the world’s diamonds are eligible to become Forevermark diamonds and be inscribed with the Forevermark icon and individual number.
Forevermark diamonds are tracked and traced from mine to finger. The unique inscription on every Forevermark diamond provides the consumer with assurance of their diamond’s provenance, quality and that it has been responsibly sourced.
Invisible to the naked eye, the inscription is made using bespoke technology from De Beers and can only be seen using a special Forevermark viewer, which will be available at the Jewel Africa outlet in Maun Airport. The unique inscription and identification number on a Forevermark diamond also holds information about the quality of the diamond. It is a promise that the diamond has met strict standards of beauty in terms of the 4 C’s (quality, clarity, cut, colour) and has been carefully cut and polished by the Diamantaires, the best cutters and polishers in the world who work in partnership with Forevermark.
Caratco is proud to open a Jewel Africa outlet in Botswana since the country is of great significance to De Beers, Forevermark and the diamond industry globally. Jwaneng mine in Botswana is the richest mine in the world and belongs to The De Beers Group of Companies and is one of the sources of Forevermark diamonds. Diamonds account for 33% of the GDP (approximately $3.3 billion) of Botswana. Since independence in 1966, the year before diamonds were discovered in Botswana, GDP annual growth rate averaged 7%. Revenues from the diamond industry enable every child in Botswana to receive free education up to the age of 13.
In addition, De Beers Global Sightholder Sales relocated its entire function from London to Botswana at the end of 2013. They handle the aggregation and sale of rough diamonds and serve Sightholders from the leading diamond centres of New York, Antwerp, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, southern Africa and the Far East.
DTC Botswana (a 50/50 joint venture partnership between De Beers and the Government of the Republic of Botswana) is located in Gaborone: the world’s largest and most sophisticated diamond sorting and valuing facility, with an annual capacity of 45 million carats.
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