Antwerp plans to defend diamond supremacy

ANTWERP, Belgium – Antwerp’s diamond industry this week unveiled plans for the world’s first large-scale electronic diamond market, as part of a plan to preserve and even extend its dominance of the sector.

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), which represents some 1 850 largely trading companies based in the north Belgium port city, said it aimed to create new 4 000 jobs in the sector in Antwerp by 2020.’This is based on calculations. It is not some sort of utopian view,”AWDC Chief Executive Ari Epstein told a news conference in a dockside warehouse.Epstein said the industry body’s new strategy was the result of a study launched in 2010, when the sector, which relies heavily on financing for consumers, was pulling out of its worst crisis for decades.Diamond trading in Antwerp stretches back 550 years. The city had some 20 000 diamond polishers until the early 1980s, but cutting is now largely done in India and China, except for the highest quality gems which are still cut and polished in Belgium.However, Antwerp remains the world’s largest diamond trading hub and a centre of gem certification. Eighty per cent of the world’s rough diamonds and half of all polished diamonds pass through it.The sector has an annual turnover of 42 billion euros and is responsible for some some 34 000 jobs indirectly in Belgium.’Antwerp has a lot to offer, but when you are the biggest, the only way you can go is down,’ said AWDC President Nishit Parikh, himself a diamond trader.The city faces competition in trading from Dubai, and Israel is also a focus of diamond business.’How could we ensure that we would stay in the city for another 550 years?’ Epstein said. ‘It’s not just a vision of the future. We intend to implement 40 to 50 per cent of the plan this year.’The industry body intends to launch a diamond spot market in May or June, find new sources of financing – China’s ICBC plans to launch an office in Antwerp this year – and push into new markets. Longer-term, the AWDC believes it can claw back some of the cutting business from lower-cost countries by developing robots to polish diamonds.Finally, it wants to promote Antwerp as the capital of diamonds for consumers, not just for traders.’Madonna will go to Paris to buy a diamond, but not here,’ said Epstein. ‘Why should Antwerp not be the world centre for diamonds? Antwerp is a brand like Coca-Cola, especially in China. It is known for its specialist techniques.’ – Nampa-Reuters