De Beers settlement means diamond rebates

HOUSTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Settlement terms in the class action suit alleging diamond company De Beers fixed prices could mean glittering rebates for many diamond buyers.

The company has agreed to pay customers and diamond merchants $295 million to settle the suit that claimed De Beers tried to monopolize the diamond industry and control prices.

About half the money would go to merchants, the rest to diamond customers, Monday's Chicago Tribune reported.

The settlement applies only to buyers who can prove they purchased their diamonds between 1994 and early 2006. The potential value of the settlement for individuals is estimated to be 30 percent of the value of the diamonds they bought.

De Beers officials did not admit wrongdoing. De Beers controls as much as 40 percent of the diamond industry.

"We haven't accepted the allegations, but we decided to take this step to make sure that consumers still have confidence in the value of their diamonds," said David Prager, De Beers' director of communications.

"That facts are that it's a very competitive industry," he said.