A New York Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) arbitration panel rendered a $640,000 judgment against a member of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) in absentia. As we respect and recognize the right (and even obligation) of arbitrators... Read More...

Once a year, the U.S. Department of State presents the U.S. Congress with an almost 1,000-page report on the state-of-the-world from a narcotics trade and money laundering perspective. Read More...

Amid all of the emotions and sensitivity of the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Certifigate scandal it is occasionally worthwhile to take stock of the state of affairs and to reflect on where we are now and, most importantly, where we are going. Should it be the objective to bring... Read More...

The day mega-actress Jennifer Lopez broke her engagement to Ben Affleck might have been a sad one for the unlucky groom-not-to-be, but it may have been a fortunate day for the diamond industry. Read More...

The two-day Plumb Club Forum, held earlier this week in New York, was one of the most remarkable industry events I have attended in many years. If there was one compelling message... Read More...

The “community of bribers,” some of the estimated 25 individuals engaged in various ways in the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Certifigate fraud that took place over at least two decades... Read More...

Last week’s column, “Failed Leadership and Fraudulent Certificates,” triggered an avalanche of reactions, some of which have appeared online while others were expressed through... Read More...

The proposed elimination of term limits at the Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) in New York will, in theory, enable an incumbent president to become a president-for-life. After changing the rules a few years ago to enable the incumbent to stay on for four consecutive two-year periods, the rules have now changed again – and the two-year terms of office have changed to three years, and term limits will most likely disappear altogether. Read More...

Chaim Even-Zohar’s weekly column was not yet ready at the time of the newsletter’s deadline, which we had already extended by almost 24 hours to accommodate him.  Read More...

Diamond producers communicate in various ways to the market that we are heading toward serious rough supply shortages and, consequently, rough prices must go up. Many traders are purchasing rough today at above-market prices that, they... Read More...