When companies settle on a name, they often bring in outside experts to test its long-term viability. That was the case with De Beers’ working name, Origin. Although it had strong internal support, the brand engaged River + Wolf to explore a wider creative territory - a smart, strategic use of naming expertise.

At the client’s request, we developed directions across three themes - earth, intimacy, and revelation - with no reference to De Beers or the De Beers Group. Given the high trademark risk of simple one-word English names, we focused on invented and compound options, generating more than 30 moderate-risk candidates, including Terraform, Wildheart, byNature, Deep Song, Origin Story, Lumador, Source Code, and Revelan.

Ultimately, as often happens with placeholder names, the team returned to Origin. But the name was already in common-law use in the U.S. by multiple gem and diamond businesses, and in India - another key market - variants such as Origin Quartz, True Origin, and Pure Origin were already registered. River + Wolf advised the addition of De Beers Group, making co-existence possible.