Rio Tinto Launches 'Customer Recognition' Mark

By Rob Bates -- JCK Online, 6/1/2006 2:00:00 AM

Rio Tinto Diamonds, which sells diamonds for the Argyle, Diavik, and Murowa mines, has introduced the Select Diamantaire Mark for its customers to use in their marketing efforts. The use of the mark is entirely free, voluntary, and at the diamantaire's discretion, Rio Tinto says.

The mark is comparable, says Jean-Marie Lieberherr, general manager of marketing, to the Diamond Trading Company's sightholder insignia. It's also one of a number of marks being introduced in recent years, including Canada Mark, the upcoming WFDB Mark from the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, and the DTC's own Forevermark.

But what makes this mark different, Lieberherr says, is that it stands for Rio Tinto's core values of “integrity, transparency, and partnership.”

“This gives our customer a tool to formally associate themselves with Rio Tinto,” Lieberherr says. “We want to communicate what being a Rio Tinto customer is all about. It's about sharing a certain number of values that go beyond just promoting the product.”