"This was the most successful IDMA conference ever," one of the participants in the International Diamond Manufacturers Association Presidents' meeting, which wrapped up Wednesday in Gaborne, Botswana, said.

"We achieved all the goals we had set for this conference," said IDMA President Moti Ganz. "We put a place on the world diamond map that is not only one of the most important centers of rough in the world, but also a developing manufacturing center that in the future will be an attractive regional diamond center.

We allowed heads of the global diamond industry to be exposed to the first departure point of the diamonds that arrive on our tables in a visit to the world's biggest diamond mine by value and a visit to the state-of-the-art DTC sorting center, which will soon become an international sorting center.

"We held discussions in which we addressed a number of important subjects that are the concern of the global diamond industry, and we also showed the power of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association – IDMA – that focused attention and interest and held events that attracted hundreds of participants involved in the local and international diamond sector. There is no doubt that the pitso about the future of Botswana's diamond industry and beneficiation for the local population was a special event in both its quality and the level of interest it raised."

The discussions at the presidents' meeting included an appeal by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) regarding a number of diamond dealers who have submitted treated diamonds to its lab for grading without disclosing the treatments. The lab informed the IDMA that it would not accept more diamonds for grading from the dealers in question. IDMA decided that every letter received by a diamond dealer informing them that the GIA had decided to stop accepting their stones for grading would be forwarded to the IDMA member associations, each one of which would take steps in line with its policies and regulations.

Another subject that sparked interest was the expanding business in synthetic diamonds. Conference participants raised a number of ideas on how to create a clear distinction between diamond companies that deal in natural diamonds and companies that deal with synthetic diamonds, both by establishing separate companies and by conducting the two businesses in separate locations. The issue will be addressed at future meetings presidents' meetings.

There is no doubt that the crowning moment of the conference was the participants' visit to the Jwaneng mine, which yields 80% profits for its owners and accounts for about half of Botswana's income. The IDMA presidents stood in front of a pit that measured 1.6 kilometers wide, 2.5 kilometers long and 350 meters deep, heard explanations by a geologist, and understood that even though the mine began producing rough in 1982, it still has a production future.