Just imagine that you allegedly ran through a red traffic light and got caught. The police will investigate the circumstances of the offense. Then the press learns about it, and the morning after, news articles are implying or insinuating that you are being held on a triple-murder charge. Is this international disinformation? Or is it deliberate dissemination of false... Read More...

On the eve of the AWDC diamond conference, which will display Antwerp in its full glory, it is kind of amazing to reflect on what has happened in the city on the Schelde in just a little over a year. It was not so long ago, in January 2006, that Belgium’s Premier, Guy Verhofstadt, delivered an earthquake when he declared that the board of what was then still called the HRD.... Read More...

Few diamantaires have thoroughly analyzed the potential impact of the Basel II bank capital adequacy requirements on their businesses. It’s no wonder. Since the advanced economic and mathematical models that need to be developed by the banks are so complex and costly, the U.S. government has decided to have Basel II initially apply only to the 10 largest U.S. banks. In Europe and the rest of the world, banks aren’t that lucky. Read More...

Sometimes the only way to discover that there are again some diamond issues brewing in the European Commission is through questions raised by EC officials or parliamentarians. So when one suddenly gets questions on "why the London based DTC has such an interest in having new consumer protection EU... Read More...

“Please, dada [grandfather in Hindi], tell me once more the varta [fairy tale] of Prince Raven of Bangalore,” says the little girl snuggling up in her dada’s lap. “You know, dada, the legend about a miraculous company that was worth $10 million... Read More...

Last week’s column on the problems between diamond manufacturers and unions in Botswana has set off a storm; it apparently identified a real issue that needs to be addressed. It brought the genie out of the bottle and we have faith in Minister Ponatshego Kedikilwe... Read More...

It’s almost like a theme out of a Kafka book. While the DTC Botswana proudly presents its new board of directors, which is responsible for allocating rough diamonds to local factories, two of the largest existing operations are contemplating a possible lock-out, closing ... Read More...

The Indian diamond industry is, in a strange way, enjoying a period of exceptional goodwill in the highest echelons of governance. There is a... Read More...

The DMCC has known from the very infancy of its ambitious diamond project that selling office space in the some-70-floor Almas Tower would be the easy part. However, the creation of genuine added-value products... Read More...

On October 29, 2007, the Namibia DTC (NDTC) will announce its rough allocations to local diamond manufacturers under the new distribution system. The NDTC contract period will run from October... Read More...