Tiffany's is an extreme example of an industry shift that started during the recent luxury boom. Like most other diamond retailers, Tiffany long bought the vast majority of its diamonds pre-cut and pre-polished from industry middlemen. But with global diamond jewelry sales soaring earlier this decade, Tiffany and others worried they would soon be fighting over dwindling supplies.

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The retailer invested in mine operators, and in 2002 it began opening cutting-and-polishing plants in Canada, Belgium, South Africa and Vietnam. In the past two years it added similar operations in China and Mauritius. The in-house unit Tiffany founded in 2002 to run these plants, Laurelton Diamonds, now employs 1,100 workers, or 14% of the company's work force. It will supply more than 50% of Tiffany's diamonds this year -- up from 40% last year and none in 2003.

Others have made similar bets. Privately held retailer Graff Diamonds International owns a majority stake in a South African diamond wholesaler and polisher with facilities from Antwerp and New York to Botswana. Suppliers have made incursions on retailers' turf. Mining giant De Beers Group operates retail stores in a joint venture with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA. Canadian miner Aber Diamond bought a controlling interest in retailer Harry Winston in 2004. Indian jewelry manufacturer Gitanjali Gems Ltd. transformed itself into a global retailer starting in 2006, buying U.S.-based Samuels and Rogers jewelry chains.

Some industry analysts see risk in running operations that span from mining and manufacturing to high-end retailing and marketing. "[They're] all totally different types of activity -- and one needs tremendous expertise, skills, infrastructure to be truly competitive" in each, says Chaim Even-Zohar, principal of Tacy Ltd., a Tel Aviv-based industry consultant.

The 60-second black and white film was created by advertising agency King James and filmed by director Keith Rose from Velocity Films. It took 14 months to create and required 300 cast members and a crew of more than 150 people.

"This was an incredibly challenging board," said Mr Rose. "You just take it for granted that James Dean is so iconic, so to go and mess with him, and replan his life, if stuff like that doesn’t work it’s like you’re desecrating his memory. We really needed to deal with it with sensitivity."

Speaking about Princess Tiana, who will make her movie introduction in limited release Nov. 25 (a full release is planned for Dec. 11) in Disney's animated The Princess and the Frog, makes both Carol's Daughter founder Lisa Price and the company's chief executive officer and managing director, Steve Stoute, emotional.

"This is the first time I'll be able to take my daughter to a Disney movie where she'll see a princess with skin her color," said Stoute, speaking of his four-year-old daughter. "African-American women have never been invited into the Disney experience — this is a major milestone for the Disney princess franchise. It will be very exciting to take my daughter to see the Ariel that looks like her, whose hair moves just like hers, and whose skin is beautifully brown and celebrated. And given Lisa's story, it is especially appropriate that Carol's Daughter is partnering with Disney for this project."

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"We both started in the kitchen with a strong work ethic and believed in our dreams," Price said with a smile, calling the moment "an event with significant social importance. I'm thrilled and proud that African-American girls everywhere will see the movie and see someone to identify with, someone to be proud of and someone to emulate," Price continued. "Princess Tiana will tell African-American women that they can be beautiful and successful by being themselves. That is such a powerful message, and that can't be underestimated. This moment has been a long time coming."

Last fall, Hayek traveled to the African country of Sierra Leone, where she saw the ravages of the disease firsthand. "Before we got to the hotel, we stopped at a hospital. (A woman) was trying to breast-feed the baby, and the baby wouldn't take it anymore. I said, 'I think we shouldn't be here.' As we walked out, two to three minutes later, the baby died," she says. "I'll never forget the look of desperation on that woman's face. How can you not get involved, especially when you have a child yourself?"

Hayek is outspoken and at times eye-openingly candid, as she quietly, thoughtfully recalls encountering a newborn child in a clinic during her trip to Africa. "The baby was perfectly healthy, but the mother didn't have milk. He was very hungry. I was weaning Valentina, but I still had a lot of milk that I was pumping, so I breast-fed the baby," she says, her voice dropping. "You should have seen his eyes. When he felt the nourishment, he immediately stopped crying."

Does she want more children? "Maybe. We'll see. I have to work a little bit. I am 42. I had her at 41. I don't sleep because she doesn't sleep, but I have a lot of energy," she says. "I don't feel like, 'Oh my God, this is too late.' When you turn 40, it's a lot easier than 30. They lied when they said you get old when you're 40. The best is the 40s."