De Beers Group Buys Out, Takes Compete Complete Ownership Of Its Jewelry Holdings From Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy

De Beers Group now has complete ownership of its namesake jewelry retail brand. The renowned diamond company announced Tuesday that it has officially bought LVMH-Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s 50 percent shareholding in De Beers Diamond Jewelers.

The De Beers Diamond Jeweler purchase will help De Beers integrate across a retail network that includes 32 stores in 17 leading consumer markets, worldwide, according to release from the brand. The diamond jewelry retailer already boasts a known presence in London, Paris and New York, with a growing business in greater China.

“With its strong brand awareness, consummate diamond expertise and a commitment to responsibility, De Beers Diamond Jewelers is a trusted and industry-leading diamond jeweler,” De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver said in a statement. “More fully integrating the De Beers Diamond Jewelers brand and store network will enable us to deliver an even more differentiated diamond offering, alongside our fast-growing diamond brand, Forevermark.”

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The French luxury group LVMH first teamed up with De Beers in 2001 to create a jewelry retailer that would open in high-fashion cities and sell De Beers-branded jewelry.

The Luxembourg-based mining and trading giant launched as De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited in 1888 and controlled almost two-thirds of the world’s rough diamonds at the time of the partnership, according to the New York Times.

“Diamonds are the ultimate luxury product and as the world’s leading luxury goods group, LVMH is the ideal partner to develop the great potential of the De Beers name among its consumers,” the former managing director of De Beers, Gary Ralfe, had said in a 2001 statement.

LVMH holds 70 luxury companies and brands across six different sectors – from wines and spirits to high-end fashion and leather goods.