A Diamond Giant Plays Up Its Russian Ties to Appeal to Americans – by Andrew E. Kramer (New York Times – July 11, 2018)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Alrosa is not a household name, but it is a dominant force in mining and wants to increase its sales in the United States.

MIRNY, Russia — Shoppers want to know where their coffee is grown, where their clothes are made and where their iPhones are assembled. The world’s biggest diamond miner is now betting that they will also care where the jewels on their engagement rings are dug up.

Alrosa, the mining company, is mounting a campaign to tell the tale of its stones’ journeys from mines deep beneath the ground on to the fingers of betrothed couples around the world. Its one barrier? The diamonds come from Russia.

The company is not a household name. In fact, most people who buy a diamond ring at a jewelry store have probably never heard of it.

Alrosa is a dominant force in the mining industry, and now wants to increase sales in the United States, the world’s biggest market for the jewels. But with Moscow and Washington often at loggerheads, it is unclear whether the Russian state-controlled company’s efforts will bear fruit with American customers.

Tensions between the countries have worsened considerably in recent years. The two are on opposite sides of wars in Ukraine and Syria. A special prosecutor is investigating Russian election meddling in support of President Trump.

For the rest of this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/business/alrosa-russian-diamonds.html