Based in Yellowknife

Last year, De Beers went private and announced a new program that would see its customers pick up more of the tab for advertising and branding. De Beers also announced a joint venture with luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton to set up a global diamond jewellery retail brand under the De Beers name. The first store under the new banner is expected to open in

London

before the end of the year valentine's Day links of london.

That move helped make branding, once an unknown factor in the diamond world, a top priority. And Canadian diamonds, thanks to their quality and clear provenance - no warlords or dire working conditions attached - are proving a popular commodity Links of London Earrings.

"We can't polish them fast enough," says Hilary Jones, director of Arslanian Cutting Works NWT Ltd.

Based in

Yellowknife

, Arslanian is one of three

Yellowknife

cutting factories that have rights to 10 per cent of diamond production from Ekati Red Heart Charm Bracelet.

Arslanian is polishing stones for BHP Billiton Ltd. of

Australia

, which owns 80 per cent of the Ekati mine and is marketing stones under its own Aurias brand. Arslanian is also producing polished diamonds for two other major distributors, including New York-based Beny Sofer & Sons LLC, which is selling Ekati diamonds under the Canadia brand, pitching the stones as diamonds that are "as pure as your love Pink Heart Charm Bracelet."