Diamantaires who gathered in Mumbai for a Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) meeting last week have all been accounted for in the wake of terror attacks in India’s jewelry manufacturing hub, the DTC reported Monday.

In an e-mail to National Jeweler, DTC spokeswoman Louise Prior confirmed that all attendees–among them DTC Managing Director Varda Shine–are safe.

She declined to provide further details, though news reports claim that diamantaires were gathered at the Taj Mahal Hotel, an upscale South Mumbai venue popular with Westerners and located at the Gateway of India, which was one of the hotels at the center of the attack.

continue reading "Diamantaires spared in Mumbai terror attacks"

Diamond industry has hope even though the slowdown world over is clobbering businesse. While the effects can be seen temporarily through loss of jobs and orders, India ‘could see a faster turnaround once the economies recover,’ says Varda Shine, managing director, DTC, in an interview with ET . Excerpts

Polished diamond price has dropped. How will this impact rough diamond price that has risen by nearly 16% during the year?

We are in the middle of a financial crisis and the diamond industry cannot be an exception to this. The reduction in polished diamond price has not been exceptional, and even if it does translate into lower rough diamond prices, it would be marginal and temporary.

One must keep in mind that the supply of diamonds has not risen in a long time and there have been no new mines in the last 20 years. No doubt, demand in key markets would be dull. But India and China are still good. Even in US, that is the biggest market for jewellery, 40% of the sales come during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This should determine the scenario for the next few months.

There has been an acute payment crisis in the industry similar to other sectors. Is DTC undertaking any measures to alleviate problems of diamantaires?

All our customers are leading diamond merchants. They will have to tide over these difficult times. There has been news of many jewellery retailers filing for bankruptcy, no doubt. But this has not extended yet to diamonds. The fall in demand for diamonds would be only temporary. From studies undertaken by DTC, we have found out that in such times, people would be driven to buy things that have long-term value.

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On Sunday, November 23, 2008, the Israel Diamond Exchange will mark its 70th anniversary with a special evening at the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. Leaders of the world diamond industry are scheduled to arrive in Israel especially to attend the event, including DTC’s CEO Varda Shine, Alrosa Vice President Sergei Oulin, CIBJO President Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, WDC Chairman Eli Izhakoff, and many others.

The event will also be attended by senior representatives of central bourses in Europe, China, the US and other countries, as well as foreign ambassadors serving in Israel.

continue reading "DTC’s CEO Varda Shine to be First Woman to Receive Honorary Membership in IDE"

Sight nine, estimated at $350 million, was a small Sight by any measure. An estimated $150 million worth of goods scheduled to be delivered at the Sight will be offered at Sight 10 at Sightholders requests. This reflects on Sightholders desire to delay expenses as well as a hope for a better financial situation, if not anything else, at least a rise in premiums.

Still, the planned $500 million Sight is a lower one, indicating that Sightholders took a different approach to their ITO’s in the second half of the year. Somehow, even with the pushed back deliveries, Sight 10 will be small compared to previous years.

One observer said he got a sense of fear among many of the Sightholders, manly those from Antwerp. Many complained about the high prices.

continue reading "Sight 9: Enduring, Yet Tough Love"

Contrary to media reports, the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) said on Thursday its last two Sights for the year would be smaller - in line with previous years, not due to any financial strain.

Sights 9 and 10 are usually smaller Sights, as goods supplied at these Sights will not be ready for Diwali or Christmas, the major diamond gifting time of the year.

“Sights 9 and 10 will go according to the ITO’s (intention to offer) made earlier this year,” DTC spokeswoman Louise Prior told IDEX Online, rebuffing recent media reports that the Sights would be smaller due to the downturn in the economic environment worldwide.

Sight 9 is predicted to total about $500 million, just 10 percent below last year’s estimates of $550 million, and in line with last year’s estimates for Sight 10. Considering that prices over the past year increased by about 16 percent the Sights would clearly have to be smaller in volume.

According to Prior, rough diamond allocations at Sights 9 and 10 will be as planned, though they will perhaps be “slightly smaller” compared to last year.

It is possible that due to a legal limitation, the DTC will not be able to make any significant changes to supply that could be construed as affecting the market. However, DTC Sightholders have some room to modify their delivery schedule, and some asked to defer some of their supplies from Sight 8 to Sights 9 and 10.

Last month World Federation of Diamond Bourses ((WFDB) President Avi Paz called on producers to decrease allocations.

Prior declined to comment on Paz’s request but said that the company was taking a long term approach. “As leaders in the market, we act responsibly,” she said.

Source: www.idexonline.com

The heads of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) said on Wednesday their meeting in London late August was both useful and productive. The two organization heads meet on an annual basis to discuss general industry issues and concerns of mutual interest.

In previous years the WFDB used the meeting to try and increase the supply of rough diamonds to the secondary market. This extra supply was made through De Beers’ Diamdel.

This year, however, the subjects that were reportedly discussed included the WFDB Mark, De Beers’ generic marketing activities for the fourth quarter and “the importance of the industry’s response to maintaining the highest ethical standards and key issues impacting the cutting centers.”

Both sides agreed that the meeting showed much common ground between the WFDB and the DTC, and came to several important conclusions.

The DTC applauded the WFDB for their involvement in providing input for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) RBA Guidance for Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones and congratulated the WFDB on being accepted as a member of the FATF’s Consultative Forum.

The DTC and the WFDB are fully aligned in their goal to evidence ethical accountability in the diamond industry. To this end, the DTC is supportive of the WFDB’s goal to fully implement the WFDB Mark as a sign of integrity, backed by a system of auditing, monitoring and enforcement.

The DTC recognizes the value to ethically operating diamond companies in becoming members of one of the 28 affiliated WFDB bourses around the world.

Source: www.idexonline.com

Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Sight 7 is traditionally a large Sight and sometimes a gloomy one. It’s not clear if it’s the summer blues or the pre-season jitters, but this year is true to form with Sightholders reporting a downbeat feeling, while clearing the tables of goods.

Sightholders said the goods are priced very high, leaving slim margins. Premiums on many goods are very low, with reports of some Sightholders selling DTC boxes at list price. There is also an unconfirmed report of sells below list price, meaning at a lost.

Behind this stand a weak U.S. economy and a cash liquidity crunch. With another medium sized diamond firm and former Sightholder closing its doors, Israel’s Delta, the concerns are not wholly misplaced.

One industry insider told IDEX Online that the situation is so tough that there is a chance some Sightholders will turn down a few boxes at the next Sight -September 22-26, immediately following the Hong Kong trade show. Good sells at the Hong Kong show may of course invalidate the prediction.

A couple of Sightholders noted that their boxes suffered from a downgrade in mix, effectively pushing up the price by 2-5 percent. One Sightholder said it looked like there were less of the Russian and South African goods.

The Sight is estimated at about $730 million.

Harry Winston (Aber) rough diamond clients reported a sharp price increase. After clients complained of lower mix of goods at the last allocation, this month the mix was vastly improved. However, the estimated 10 percent increase in prices has prevented any expressions of joy.

Source: www.idexonline.com

De Beers has boosted rough diamond prices by 16 percent so far this year due to strong demand, the firm said on Tuesday.

De Beers, 45 percent owned by mining group Anglo American , said in July it was cautious about developments in the second half due to a downturn in the United States, the top diamond jewellery market.

The firm’s marketing unit, the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), has increased prices for rough, or unpolished, diamonds several times this year. The latest 16 percent cumulative figure included a further hike in August, a statement said.

The DTC said in July it had increased prices by 5 percent on top of previous price hikes of 8.5 percent this year.

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