Come 2008, how many DTC Sightholders can be supported by De Beers’ own production? Of course, it is a total arbitrary decision what the minimum size of a Sight should be – and the new system in which applicants apply for specific boxes in 16 different... Read More...

In our “musical chairs” column last week, we mused about the contraction of the rough diamond supply sources that is likely to occur after the current surge of acquisitions and mergers in the mining world will end. Read More...

Playing musical chairs is a game that doesn’t need much explanation: a few kids run around a small number of chairs, and when the music stops one of them will find himself or herself without a place to sit. Read More...

DTC Sight-application policies are becoming increasingly bewildering. At the last Sight, clients were given consultation document suggesting that applicants with a material interest in a diamond-mining business will now also be allowed to apply for a DTC Sight. Not only is this announcement odd, so is its timing; it came well... Read More...

In the history of any industry, there are those rare defining moments, - events so significant that one can only fully comprehend their importance many years after they occur. One rarely gets a sense of being part of history in the making. We have written... Read More...

This is a totally useless article. I suggest stop reading right now and come back to this column next week. Have a nice weekend. If you are still with me, this article deals with the question whether it is possible that a diamond polishing plant operated by the Hezbollah in southern Lebanon... Read More...

It was inevitable – and the writing had been on the wall for some time. De Beers will be restructuring almost all of its Diamdel offices: Israel, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Though market rumor talks about “closing Diamdel”, this is definitely not the case. Read More...

While most diamond merchants are wondering why we don’t see the long-awaited avalanche of Apollo synthetic (cultured) gem quality rough or polished on the market, the scientists and the marketing people at the company’s Boston-area headquarters couldn’t be more elated about their progress. They are... Read More...

Waiting for my train to Tel Aviv – and the train was late – I started to philosophize about timetables. The most confusing timetable at the moment is not the one for my train, but rather the one involving... Read More...

This week, I overheard a heated discussion amongst a few Antwerp diamantaires about the revaluation of inventories that took place in December last year. The question that was raised was, “Did we make a monumental blunder, or not?” By itself, that is a very intriguing question. There were various reactions: “If I am not going to stay in Antwerp and instead move in... Read More...