Panama Says More Senior Industry Figures to Attend Center Launch

(IDEX Online News) – Three more senior diamond industry leaders have confirmed that they will attend the launch of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center on March 17 and 18.

They are Jeffrey H. Fischer, a member of the Board of Governors of the Gemological Institute of America, Alex Popov, President of the Moscow Diamond Bourse, and Mehul Shah, President of the Indian Diamond and Colorstone Association (IDCA).

The two-day launch event in Panama is bringing together an unprecedented group of industry leaders, as well as members of the diamond, gemstone and jewelry industries from Latin America and around the world, where they will be introduced to the $200 million Panama Gem & Jewelry Center project.

The center will be the first dedicated facility for the diamond, jewelry and colored stone trades in the region that includes South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. The guest of honor at the launch will be Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli.

Diamond manufacturer Fischer is honorary life president of both the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America (DMIA), and is a former board member of the Jewelers' Vigilance Committee in the United States. He has served since 2008 as a Governor of the Gemological Institute of America. He also serves as on the advisory board of the Diamond Development Initiative.

Popov is active in luxury distribution and retail in Russia and former Soviet Union countries. He was instrumental in establishing the first Russian private diamond and jewelry exchange and its acceptance as a World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) member. He also is Chairman of the World Diamond Mark, a not-for-profit organization established by the WFDB to promote consumer desirability and confidence in diamonds.

Meanwhile, Mehul Shah, who heads an important diamond manufacturing and trading company, also serves as President of the Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association (IDCA).

The Panama Gem & Jewelry Center is anchored by the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), which is the first and only diamond bourse in all of Latin America.

Among the industry leaders who have confirmed attendance are Eli Izhakoff, Hon. President of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and of the World Diamond Council; Ernest Blom, President of the World Federation of the Diamond Bourses; Gaetano Cavalieri, President of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation; Avi Paz, President of the World Diamond Council; Shmuel Schnitzer, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange; Reuven Kaufman, President of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York; Moti Ganz, Chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute, and Ronnie Vanderlinden, President of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of the United States.

Representatives of two of the world's five largest diamond manufacturing and trading companies, Rosy Blue and Eurostar Diamond Traders, have also confirmed that they will attend.