The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) has scheduled a memorial service for victims of the Mumbai terror attacks to take place at 4 pm today, Wednesday December 10, in the exchange.

India’s ambassador to Israel, Navtej Sarna, will attend the ceremony, as will family members of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the Chabad emissaries killed in the attacks.

In a notification for the event, IDE president Avi Paz stressed the strong relationship that has developed between the Israeli and Indian diamond communities.

continue reading "Israel Diamond Exchange to Hold Memorial Service for Victims of Mumbai Attacks"

A particularly poignant obituary was posted at the entrance to the Israel Diamond Exchange’s (IDE) trade floor this morning, mourning the brutal murder of Rabbi Gabi Holtzberg and his wife Rivki at the hands of the terrorists who took over Chabad House in Mumbai last week. There is no doubt that Jews all over the world are pained by the horrifying death of the Holtzbergs, who were only in their twenties. But a profound sorrow can be sensed within the walls of the Israel Diamond Exchange. This is because Chabad House in Mumbai served as “a home away from home” for dozens of Israeli diamantaires who regularly visited the site during their frequent business trips to Mumbai.

Rabbi Hagai Halevi, Honorary Secretary of the Israel Diamond Exchange, explains: “Our diamantaires would go to Chabad House in Mumbai and enjoy a kosher dinner every night. Rabbi Gabi would even make sandwiches for the Israeli diamantaires and deliver them to wherever they were doing business so that they would have kosher food for lunch too.”

continue reading "The Israeli Diamond Industry’s Angels: Gabi and Rivki Holtzberg z”l"

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"

Rohinton B Maloo, the first India representative of JCK magazine and the JCK Show, was killed during the Nov. 26 terrorists attacks in Mumbai. Maloo helped launch Mediascope Associates in 1987, where he was a sales representative for JCK. It was one of many companies he founded. Kaushal Shah, JCK India sales director, attended Maloo’s funeral Monday. She described him as a friend and mentor.

Maloo, who was most recently managing director of Cutting Edge Media and consulting partner and strategic advisor to TELiBrahma Convergent Communications (a mobile solutions company), was reportedly at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai for a dinner meeting on Wednesday evening, when terrorists forcibly entered the premises and began randomly shooting, killing him and others.

continue reading "First JCK Rep in India Killed in Mumbai Attacks"

Rising prices, recession and now terrorist attacks. The diamond and jewellery industry, which is already reeling under a host of problems
both in India and abroad, has been shaken by Wednesday’s terrorist attack on India’s financial capital, Mumbai.

The city is largely seen as the second diamond hub after Surat, which narrowly escaped serial blasts when explosives were defused by security agencies in July this year. But Mumbai was not that lucky and traders and jewellers fear loss of business, at least in the short term.

The overall sentiment, which has already taken a hit due to tapering export demand and severe liquidity crisis, may fall further, affecting the local demand, they fear.

continue reading "Diamond traders on the edge"

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