Competition and Friendship

by Erez Jacob Rivlin, diamond market analyst and consultant. Served as an advisor to the Russian Government (Minister Bychkov), and to the late Angolan President dos Santos. Managing editor of www.diamondherald.com Contact erez@diamondherald.com

Competition and friendship in the diamond industry can and should go hand in hand, says Karen Rentmeesters, new CEO at Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC).

"In Flemish we call it 'comlegas'," she tells IDEX Online in an exclusive interview. "In the end we all want this industry to prosper. Members of the industry compete with each other and at the same time are colleagues and friends."

Her call for unity echoed throughout last week's Facets 2024 diamond conference in Antwerp, at a time when the industry is experiencing a deep crisis.

"We are in the middle of a perfect storm of challenges," she said. "There are geopolitical tensions, and the diamond market is under extreme pressure on every level, from the miner to the retailer.

"The message that I got from my board is let's focus on alliances to get through those challenges. There is no such thing as a single solution that serves just one entity."

AWDC's board sets the strategy and targets, but Karen and her team face the day-to-day challenges of implementing them.

Implementing G7 sanctions has been one of Antwerp's toughest challenges.

"Being the only trade center located within the G7-EU, has put us in a position that no other diamond center experiences, apart from Canada of course," she said.

"Thirty-five per cent of our rough imports came from Russia. We were Russia's preferred partner in trading rough diamonds, and not even calculating all the Russian polished.

"The sanctions block has been a significant blow to the Antwerp diamond industry. It is a reality that is put upon us. After all, the sanctions are set in motion for the right reasons."

"On the other hand, the sanctions brought increased compliance. The G7 certificates for diamond parcels have been issued in Antwerp since March 1st this year.

"In Antwerp there are $8 billion of grandfathered diamond inventories that are controlled by the government mainly through the experts of the Diamond Office."

Rentmeesters noted with a smile that all those controls create extra paperwork for the Antwerp dealers. But on the other hand, the city's diamond exports are the most tightly controlled and the most compliant with requirements of the world's leading brands and retailers.

And AWDC will further improve the implementation of the sanctions, she said. "The mixed origins are the key issue here. We have already blocked some of those shipments, and those cases are under judicial process. So, as we follow the G7 decisions, starting from 1 March 2025, no more mixed origin rough parcels will be allowed to enter Antwerp."

Another huge challenge facing the natural diamond industry is its struggle with synthetic diamonds. Rentmeesters said that following AWDC lobbying, Belgian legislatures became the first in the world to legally oblige retailers to provide their customers with a valid certificate when selling natural diamonds. The French authorities followed suit and hopefully many more countries will do likewise.

Rentmeesters was unanimously voted in as permanent CEO of AWDC in July of this year. She'd already worked there for 15 years and was appointed interim CEO in April.

During those interim months she managed to prove she was the right woman at the right time. AWDC president Isi Morsel said: "She showed that she is a tremendous asset to our organization".

If she ever decides to diversify, she could easily join the Belgian diplomatic corps. She answered my questions, skillfully navigated a path through often-conflicting interests of the 70 -plus nationalities represented at the Antwerp diamond hub.

"There's so much dynamics. It's almost like Dallas meets Dynasty," says Rentmeesters, a diamond industry enthusiast who is passionate about her work.

When asked how she operates among so many alpha-male millionaires, or even billionaires, she answered without hesitation: "I think that it is actually an advantage being a woman. I am very straightforward and I don't have a poker face.

"As a woman, I especially make sure that for me and the team we have the opportunity to work and function with a healthy work-life balance."