Whenever you pick up a newspaper or read news on the Internet, there will be something about diamonds in there. Diamonds are taking over. Whether the stories are about diamonds for sale, diamonds in makeup, dazzling diamond purses or diamonds that the stars wore on any given award night. The topics vary. There are even stories about diamond heists and robberies, diamonds in the movies, diamonds in chocolate boxes or those that are now investing in diamonds. They have taken over and are on the mind of many people.
Stories about diamonds can be good, bad and indifferent. People are searching for diamond specifics, and some stories are read by pure coincidence. If you have bought diamonds in the last 14 years, and most of you have, then you are more than likely going to be interested in the recent stories floating around about the settlement that you can get if you bought a diamond anytime before 2006. Diamond buyers can get refunds in the diamond class action settlement that is taking place.
DeBeers just settled a law suit for $295 million dollars. The world’s largest diamond supplier has been monopolizing the market for years. The class action suit stated that they have been unfairly monopolizing the diamond trade and have been fixing prices for years. It has been three years since one of the law suits was filed in Maricopa Superior County Court. For those customers that bought a DeBeers gem between the years of January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2006, you have until May 19, 2008 to submit your claim. The claim must be submitted to the settlement’s administrator in order to get your money back. You won’t have to let go of your diamonds, but you do have to have a receipt in order to receive any money back.
You won’t know exactly how much money you will be getting back until all the claims are in. You must fill out the form by going to the web site, diamondsclassaction.com, and filling in all the information. You do not have to submit the original receipt, but do keep it in case they require you to submit it for proof. Your claim will also depend on the value of the diamond. The buyer and the seller can both claim the same diamond as long as both can produce a receipt. A larger claim will be refunded to a wholesaler, who bought the diamonds and then resold them.
Several lawsuits were filed claiming that DeBeers broke anti-trust and consumer protection laws. They monopolized diamond supplies, disseminated false advertising and controlled the diamond prices. DeBeers does not agree with the allegations but decided to resolve the matter. They stated that they “made the decision to put this matter behind us because we believe resolving it will allow us to focus on building De Beers’ future, maintain and grow our reputation as a leader in the luxury-goods sector and, most importantly, protect consumers’ confidence in their diamond purchases.”
The judge is making rulings on the fairness of the settlement and other issues involved in the settlement on April 14, 2008. The price of diamonds is rising continuously and this action suit is very helpful to those in wholesale diamond business and jewelry business. Many people do not want DeBeers to control the industry. Although they started in 1888, and have diamonds mines all through Africa, they employ thousands of people in more than 20 countries. Diamonds are a gold mine. For those that are buying them for simple pleasure or to give to others, they will be pleased if the prices of the stones go down.
Diamonds are a hot commodity and DeBeers apparently knew it. If you file your claim you can get anywhere between six and sixty percent back. For someone who bought a $2,000 ring, you could get as much as $640 back. This would make an excellent payday for many people. For those guys that got jilted by being told “no” after an engagement, they may feel better by knowing that they can get something out of their purchase. Get your claims in: there’s not much time left.
For those that can’t find their receipts, you may want to hold out on making any diamond purchases in the near future. The prices may go down. If you were planning on buying that new Smartphone that is made with all the diamonds give it a few months, the price may reduce drastically. Diamonds are bought and sold all over the world for many different things and by many different people. Some diamonds are encrusted in televisions while others are bought as presents for their loved ones. Whatever your reason, you can be assured that everyone else is buying diamonds too.
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