Diamond industry continues call for rough reduction

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Diamond industry continues call for rough reduction

November 18, 2008

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Antwerp, Belgium--A reduction in rough-diamond supply, coupled with an increase in generic diamond marketing, is what the diamond industry needs to do to navigate the choppy economic waters, industry leaders concluded at a symposium held on Monday in Antwerp, Belgium.

The seminar, called the Antwerp Diamond Symposium, attracted more than 500 diamond industry players from all over the world, including De Beers Group Managing Director Gareth Penny, Alrosa President Sergey Vybornov and World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) President Avi Paz.

During the afternoon of speeches, seminar moderator Chaim Even-Zohar summed up the dimensions of the worldwide economic crisis from the diamond industry's perspective. In the coming year, he said, retail demand for diamonds will decrease by 10 percent, resulting in a 20 percent decrease in demand for loose polished diamonds at wholesale and a 35 percent drop in the amount of rough needed.

"Let's keep things in perspective," Even-Zohar said. "Under current circumstances, a 10 percent fall in demand at retail is not the end of the world."

Even so, speakers at the symposium--including those from mining giants De Beers and Alrosa--reiterated the need, and their support for, a reduction in rough-diamond production.

Moti Ganz, president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, called the decision by India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council to ask members to refrain from purchasing rough diamonds for a month "a brave and important step," according to the Israel Diamond Industry portal site.

He also appealed to rough-diamond producers, rough-diamond traders, manufacturers and jewelry chains to invest in generic diamond marketing, a sentiment echoed by a number of other speakers.

Alrosa's Vybornov said the industry--which already has been working for months to promote a generic advertising campaign for diamonds akin to something like the "Got Milk?" campaign--can expect news in December about the establishment of the "Diamond Guild," an organization that will manage the all-industry effort to market diamonds.

And WFDB President Paz called for the establishment of a joint international steering committee for diamond marketing.

"During these turbulent times, great importance must be attributed to unity among the mining companies, diamond traders, producers and jewelry companies," he said. "We must act as a single entity to market the advantages of the diamond as a financial investment."

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