The Antwerp Diamond Symposium was recently organised by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) on behalf of the world diamond industry, which answered sensitive issues of industry growth at the current time of financial crisis. The concluding outlook of the 500 participants at the symposium was that the current downturn is related predominantly to financial liquidity and not to the fundamentals of the diamond business, which are sound.

The industry representatives seemed ready with an action plan and a confident mood of thought. In his opening address, Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the AWDC, said, “Regardless of the length of this recession, it is clear that we need to take action now, and we must do with a belief that we can succeed. After all, our industry has prospered for centuries. This by no means is the first crisis in our industry, and yet we have always endured and succeeded. This knowledge should at least provide us all here with a great degree of confidence.” He stressed on the need for comprehensive and coordinated industry response. Chaim Even-Zohar, who was the seminar moderator said that demand for diamonds at retail will fall about 10 percent over the coming year, translating to a 20 percent decrease in demand for loose polished diamonds at wholesale, and a 35 percent fall in the amount of rough diamonds required.

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The Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) recently hosted a diamond luncheon in Mumbai to which HRH King Albert II of Belgium attended. The lunch was part of the king’s state visit to India and represented the close and historical ties between the two counties’ diamond industries.
At the luncheon, Freddy Hanard, Chief Executive Officer of AWDC, spoke of the universal challenges facing the diamond world today and how diamond producers have consequently been changing their strategy. Hanard also mentioned the evolution of the diamond market and the transformation of the branding of diamonds. “I believe that Antwerp and Mumbai are complementary partners in this changing environment. Our countries will continue to enjoy excellent relations. We see India as a potential growth market and its cooperation with Antwerp is very important to us,” he said.
Antwerp has been the single-largest rough supplier to the Indian trade since the 1960s, accounting for more than 50 percent of the rough procured for processing in India. In 2007, India was Antwerp’s largest producer in terms of carat volume, with 33 percent of the total imports of polished diamonds, and the second-largest producer in terms of value, accounting for 17 percent of Belgian imports.

Source: www.diamondintelligence.com

Due to the financial crisis currently affecting the world economy and the ensuing turbulent market conditions, the Antwerp World Diamond Center has announced that it will hold an international symposium for the world diamond community on November 17, 2008.

The symposium, called ‘Confidence in Challenging times,’ will address the impact of the worldwide financial crisis on the diamond industry.

Key speakers include mining company stakeholders, leading industry players, representatives of diamond companies and banks, retailers and marketing experts. The open symposium invites all parties to share their views on the future of the entire diamond pipeline.

Philip Claes, spokesman of AWDC, noted: “It is important that Antwerp takes the leadership in organizing an open forum to discuss the current developments on the international diamond scene. As a world diamond center, Antwerp aims to restore confidence in the diamond trade.”

The Antwerp Diamond Symposium ‘Confidence in Challenging Times’ will take place on November 17 from 9:00 to 17:00 at the Antwerp Province House and is open to all interested diamond professionals.

Source: www.israelidiamond.co.il

Antwerp, Belgium—Belgium’s federal police raided offices in Antwerp’s diamond district last week, confiscating $150 million in goods, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) confirmed to National Jeweler.

According to the AWDC, authorities confiscated $50 million in diamonds at the Diamond Office, Antwerp’s import and export agency. The other $100 million worth of goods was confiscated at the offices of a diamond company.

Over the past two years, the area of Antwerp that houses the city’s diamond industry, known as the Diamond Square Mile, has seen its share of police raids in relation to the “Monstrey Case,” which involves alleged money laundering.

But AWDC officials said this raid is part of a different investigation.

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