“The last 12 months were the most challenging in the history of the global diamond industry” – with these words the President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) Avi Paz began his speech in the first joint session of the Presidents’ Conference, which opened this morning in Antwerp.

He expanded on this speech later in the first separate session of the WFDB:

“Last year, here in Antwerp, we were the first to request from rough diamond producers to limit rough supply. Fortunately they agreed to our request. We were the first to call for the establishment of an international entity to handle the generic marketing of diamonds, both as an investment and as a symbol of love and eternity. To our dismay, it appears that instead of things progressing towards the generic marketing of diamonds, we are now stuck on bureaucratic issues. I hope that eventually there will be progress, since generic marketing can have a positive influence on our industry”.

Avi Paz dedicated the major part of his speech to analyzing the situation that preceded the crisis, and the benefits that the global diamond industry gained from the difficult period that it had endured. For example, he noted that “prior to the crisis, the diamond industry had become, with guidance from the rough producers and the banks, centralized in every aspect. It was controlled by less and less companies and individuals, something which is contrary to our interests and to business limitations in Europe and the United States”. We might have found ourselves in an irreversible situation, which would have caused a catastrophe, he said, however the crisis began to subside and steered us in the right direction. At the same time, the crisis also emphasized the importance of the secondary market for the rough diamond producers, and its role in the stabilization of the industry during the crisis period. This period taught everyone, that the large diamond companies need the medium and small size companies just as the latter need the large ones – said Avi Paz.

The current crisis has even forced the diamond industry to stop and observe, how without choosing to do so, they had become the banks of the industry. They did this through the long credit periods diamond traders gave to their clients and by delivering diamonds on memo and on consignment.

Avi Paz closed his remarks stating his belief that within a decade, the industry would remember 2009 as one of the most difficult years, but also as one of the most strengthening periods for the world diamond industry.