Dvash Invokes ‘New Spirit’ as IDWI Winter Edition Begins
February 16, 16
(IDEX Online News) – Recently-elected Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) president Yoram Dvash spoke about the feeling of an improved spirit in 2016 as he officially opened the International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI).
Dvash outlined part of his vision for Israel to become a global industry leader in the diamond sector, including the ability for the exchange as a whole, and individual diamond businesses to think flexibly.
He said there was a need to close the gap between different parts of the diamond pipeline, from manufacturers to dealers to consumers, and that he would investigate how best to achieve that.
He underscored, however, that geopolitical and macro-economic considerations also have their part to play in the diamond industry. The “world is no longer a global village,” he said, “but an unstable neighborhood.”
Other speakers included current chairman of the World Jewelry Hub (WJH) in Panama, Eli Izhakoff, who said that optimism was beginning to return to the diamond industry and that there was renewed hope for the future. He praised Dvash as a “man of vision and action, who will do great things both for the industry and for the State of Israel.”
Shmuel Schnitzer, the recently elected chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI), Kobi Korn, president of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) also spoke of their hopes that the positive signs at the start of 2016 will continue. Schnitzer said that IDWI was now part of the fabric of the Israeli diamond industry, and with a view to the wider diamond sector, expressed his hope that there would be an adjustment of rough prices to become more in-line with polished.
World Jewelry Confederation (CIBJO) president Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri said that he would make every effort to help drive the success of the Israel Diamond Jewelry initiative – and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dvash later in the day.