The widely reported public letter sent by the Diamond Manufacturers & Importers of America (DMIA) to the Diamond Trading Company’s (DTC) managing director Varda Shine, evokes a variety of mixed emotions. The exercise through which a... Read More...

The moment of truth has arrived. The gulf between De Beers' management’s endless speeches about Best Practice Principles, business ethics and integrity and its own enforcement of these principles... Read More...

If, for many years, you have been addicted to Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Sights and suddenly face life without them, don’t despair. The DTC is about to launch its “Sightholder Support Programme, a package designed to assist those clients who will no longer be Sightholders from 31st... Read More...

When the European Court of First Instance annulled the European Commission (EC)-De Beers agreement in which De Beers committed itself to cease rough diamond purchases from Alrosa after 2009, we concluded that the EC may have no choice but to reconsider... Read More...

Just imagine that you allegedly ran through a red traffic light and got caught. The police will investigate the circumstances of the offense. Then the press learns about it, and the morning after, news articles are implying or insinuating that you are being held on a triple-murder charge. Is this international disinformation? Or is it deliberate dissemination of false... Read More...

On the eve of the AWDC diamond conference, which will display Antwerp in its full glory, it is kind of amazing to reflect on what has happened in the city on the Schelde in just a little over a year. It was not so long ago, in January 2006, that Belgium’s Premier, Guy Verhofstadt, delivered an earthquake when he declared that the board of what was then still called the HRD.... Read More...

Few diamantaires have thoroughly analyzed the potential impact of the Basel II bank capital adequacy requirements on their businesses. It’s no wonder. Since the advanced economic and mathematical models that need to be developed by the banks are so complex and costly, the U.S. government has decided to have Basel II initially apply only to the 10 largest U.S. banks. In Europe and the rest of the world, banks aren’t that lucky. Read More...

Sometimes the only way to discover that there are again some diamond issues brewing in the European Commission is through questions raised by EC officials or parliamentarians. So when one suddenly gets questions on "why the London based DTC has such an interest in having new consumer protection EU... Read More...

“Please, dada [grandfather in Hindi], tell me once more the varta [fairy tale] of Prince Raven of Bangalore,” says the little girl snuggling up in her dada’s lap. “You know, dada, the legend about a miraculous company that was worth $10 million... Read More...

Last week’s column on the problems between diamond manufacturers and unions in Botswana has set off a storm; it apparently identified a real issue that needs to be addressed. It brought the genie out of the bottle and we have faith in Minister Ponatshego Kedikilwe... Read More...