Aber, the only listed diamond company that has successfully tied its mine earnings and brand recognition together in one specialist diamond company, is considering changing its name to Harry Winston. %% The fact that Aber is considering the name change follows its acquisition of a 100% stake in the high-end jewellery brand last month, allowing it to operate the two bookends of the diamond business as a single business. %% Harry Winston also has a much broader name recognition, both in equity as well as retail markets, than Aber. %% Linking the two businesses together should bring a full spectrum of diamond knowledge to both businesses. %% In such a scenario, the prices paid for polished diamonds by the retailer become a guide to the pricing of rough diamonds sold by the miner. The retailer, on the other hand, can purchase polished directly from the manufacturers that are Aber’s customers and avoid the dealer mark-ups in between. %% Although Aber participates in grass roots exploration on the large Diavik property in Canada, it is currently not undertaking other grass roots exploration. %% “We would be very happy to participate in, or own, other mining projects but attractive ones are hard to come by and the three largest mining companies in the world are direct competitors,” said Aber’s chairman Bob Gannicott. %% As Diavik is expected to produce much higher grades in 2007 and with strong predicted cash flow in 2007 (fiscal 2008) at Harry Winston, the company’s near term future looks extremely bright. %% This also makes it an interesting take over target. %% Gannicot; “Aber is a public company without a controlling shareholder. This makes it always a potential takeover target. The fact that we remain independent endorses the view that nobody else feels that they could improve on the performance that we deliver from the assets.” %% Aber reported net earnings for the full year ended January 31, 2006 of $81 million, compared to net earnings of $53 million during the prior year. The companys sales were $505 million, compared to $385 million the previous year.