Conference to Examine End of De Beers’ Single Channel Supply Structure

De Beers’ century long dominance of the diamond market and its fall – from 90 percent of the rough diamond supply to about 40 percent, how it affected the market, and the new players – will be examined at the Fourth Antwerp Diamond Conference later this month.

Speakers at the conference, to be held October 15 - 16, will include the senior representatives of all the major diamond mining companies, including Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers; Varda Shine, managing director of the Diamond Trading Company; Sergey Vybornov, president of Alrosa; Jean-Marc Lieberherr, general manager of Rio Tinto Diamonds; and Chris Ryder, marketing director of BHP Billiton Diamonds.

Also speaking will be representatives of a number of the middle-tier diamond mining companies, such as Gem Diamonds, Petra Diamonds and the Stornaway Diamond Corporation.

“In less than a decade, the diamond industry has evolved from a single-channel supply industry into a multi-channel supply industry, and inevitably this is changing the rules of the game,” said Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre and organizer of the conference.

“The new situation requires all players to be on their toes, because the diamond producers are considerably more market driven. There understandably are a wide variety of rough diamond sources, but supply is less predictable and price volatility more likely. It’s a very different business environment to the one we were used to, and one that will be analyzed in depth by speakers at the conference,” Hanard added.

Vybornov will be accompanied by a delegation of more than 30 people of the Alrosa’s senior management. Alrosa will host a reception the evening before the conference opens.