We look forward to the day we will see a De Beers store on Bond Street in London, Place Vendome in Paris and Fifth Avenue in New York

De Beers managing director Gary Ralfe

Developing the brand

LVMH brands

Moet & Chandon Veuve Clicquot Hennessy cognac Hine cognac Christian Lacroix Fendi Dior Louis Vuitton Kenzo Tag Heuer watches

Analysts have long been critical of the South African diamond group for not realising its full potential.

If the De Beers brand was expanded to other luxury goods, as has happened in the case of Gucci and Chanel, then the name could be worth billions of US dollars.

"If you put the quality of the brand alongside the muscle, the resource and reach of someone like LVMH, then the sky's the limit," said Rita Clifton of branding experts Interbrand, Newell & Sorrell.

Last year, De Beers boasted diamond sales of $5.67bn (�3.85bn).

The company owns the De Beers diamonds, worth an estimated �350m, which were the target of a daring raid at the Millennium Dome last November.

Police foiled the attempted robbery of the set of 12 diamonds, including the priceless 203-carat pear-shaped Millennium Star.

But while the firm controls 65% of the $8bn global market for uncut diamonds, the retail market is highly fragmented.

Shake-up

The move follows a strategy shift last year billed as the biggest shake-up at De Beers since the 1930s.

The change saw the company focus on actively selling diamonds rather than, as historically been the case, underpinning gem prices by mopping up excess supply.

The strategy had left the company with a $4bn diamond stockpile which the firm has sought gradually to deplete.