The New Jeweller Breau got an insight from Ari Epstein, CEO, AWDC on the current Diamond demand and the future trend that one can expect from the sector and opines on Antwerp's 'Most Brilliant Label'. Excerpts:

AWDC has been an axis point for the Antwerp Diamond sector. What is your opinion on the current market scenario concerning the global demand and supply of Diamonds from Antwerp keeping in mind other diamond sectors like Dubaiand Panama that have become operational?

With the entire spectrum of diamond industry services condensed into a small location, Antwerp is really a bellwether for trade as a whole. It is the AWDC's task to ensure that all of the 1,600 diamond companies that do business here enjoy a business climate that facilitates their growth. We try to ensure that Antwerp remains the most favorable location to do business in our industry, but also the most transparent and sustainable location. What we call the 5th C - standing for compliance, CSR and confidence - is a key part of our business model. Whether this entails working together with the government, the banks, the KP, NGOs, and individual traders, we need to make sure that the trade runs smoothly and correctly. We also make great efforts to be at the forefront of positive changes in the industry globally.

Not everyone does business the way we do. Not everyone believes implementing strict controls and working to ensure the entire diamond pipeline observes the principles and regulations that benefit everyone is the right way to run an industry. But, to this point, it appears our model is working, as 84 percent of all rough diamonds and 50 percent of all polished diamonds traded in the world pass through Antwerp at least once. In hard figures, this translates into a yearly average of 225 million carats valued at $48 billion. And the market is strong and growing: we expect diamond demand to grow at approximately 3% annually, based on trends in the U.S., China and globally. We believe our way of doing things has positioned us to continue being the leading diamond trade center, and in this regard, we do not concern ourselves that much with what others are doing. We are not about to deviate from our principles in the attempt to gain greater market share.

How important are trade buyer delegations that come into the city of Antwerp to buy Diamonds? Do you see more number of trade buyer delegations from other parts of the world coming into Antwerp in the near future? Please emphasize on infrastructure, governmental support etc.

Buyer delegations visiting the city are a useful component of our multi-faceted trade platform for polished diamonds, and in recent years we have stepped up our efforts to increase the number of visits. Two years ago, we initiated what has become our highly successful Antwerp Diamond Experience program, which has organized 12 missions in the last two years. The Antwerp Diamond Experience is a B2B program where we invite a delegation of local jewelers and wholesalers to Antwerp for a three-day networking visit with Antwerp diamantaires. Our partners on the ground in diverse locations, such as our own HRD Antwerp offices and Flanders Investment and Trade, help us in this effort by identifying the right jewelry associations and providing data on local jewelers.

The young generation of Diamantaires are ready to take on the business of Diamonds. What are the important factors you feel are necessary for the younger generation for a lucrative entry into the diamond trade? Please emphasize on infrastructure, governmental support etc.

Networking and a sense of comradery among traders has always been a strong tradition in the diamond trade, but it can also create the impression of a closed and intimidating system: those that know how and where to get what they need, and those that do not. It almost made entering the diamond trade conditional on having grown up in a diamond family. The younger generation is not accustomed to doing things this way. They place greater value on open communication, information sharing and inclusiveness. We have recently taken several initiatives that speak to the mentality of the younger generation, and we see their excitement for our traditional, old-school trade growing, because they see that these traditions are ripe for change.

For instance, last May AWDC organized a three-day and two-night hackathon, the first of its kind in the diamond industry, called Hack4Diamonds. Teams gathered on a Friday evening to get hacking, and applied their innovative & tech-oriented methodology to the diamond trade with the intention to consider specific issues and eventually arrive at a workable plan to address it. More than sixty hackers from across Europe and the US, along with nearly 30 coaches representing different segments of the diamond trade, analysts, business and IT experts, emerged with eight promising projects they pitched to a jury. At stake was the opportunity, working space and coaching to follow up on their project. One of our winners proposed an innovative coworking space that brings together different communities - diamond traders, jewelers and designers, start-ups, local organizations and universities - in a single arena to facilitate cross-pollination, and this project is already in the planning stages. We want to see the younger generation thrive in the diamond trade, and endeavor to give them the tools, and the right atmosphere, to do so.

Synthetic Diamonds are increasing their equity in the jewellery sector and is a major concern to the natural diamond business. What are the initiatives that the AWDC has taken to limit the entry of Synthetic into the natural diamond trade viz: Education, Training, etc?

It has always been AWDC's position that the natural diamond trade should work to differentiate itself through its own value proposition, rather than to try to limit another product's entry into the consumer marketplace. We have consistently stated that we are happy to coexist with synthetic diamonds, albeit with one significant caveat: that they are disclosed for what they are. Secretive, or 'undisclosed' mixing of synthetic diamonds with parcels of natural diamonds is not only fraudulent, but ultimately is extremely harmful for all industry stakeholders.

Our main concern with synthetic diamonds is therefore to prevent contamination of the rough diamond pipeline by laboratory-grown stones. To this end, HRD Antwerp, the grading and certification lab under the umbrella of AWDC, has developed technologically advanced diamond screening equipment, such as the M-Screen and M-Screen+, to enable greater detection capabilities. Among the many information sessions AWDC organizes concerning a wide range of industry-related topics, the issue of synthetic diamonds is certainly well addressed. It was one of the dedicated topics at last years' African Diamond Conference, an AWDC initiative of supported by the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, and was equally addressed at the Antwerp Summer University we organized last summer, and will be organizing again this year. In short, education and detection are focal points, but ultimately we want to emphasize the timeless beauty of our own product.

Tell us something about Antwerp's Most Brilliant label and how has it transformed Antwerp's retail sector?

For many years, shoppers visiting Antwerp have been filled with high expectations about the jewelry boutiques awaiting them in the world's diamond capital, and for years these expectations were quickly dashed, as consumers were confronted with myriad uninviting and less-than-reputable jewelry shops in the city. The City of Antwerp and AWDC recognized the problem and decided to do something about it. Together we created Antwerp's Most Brilliant (AMB): a quality label for jewelers focusing on confidence and compliance, intended to direct customers to trusted jewelers where they may shop and purchase with peace of mind, and to enable deserving jewelers to distinguish themselves from the hundreds of businesses located in the diamond capital. Together with the City of Antwerp, we work to promote the positive aspects of the diamond and jewelry sector, highlighting outstanding designers and creating broader forums for their jewelry. Doing this properly requires an authorized system of criteria, certificates, independent auditing and partners to enforce it - and we found them in the form of independent control bodies (professional jewelers' federation Ars Nobilis and the Federal Public Service Economy). AMB currently consists of 24 jewelers spread out 50/50 across the historical center of the city and the diamond district, and anticipates welcoming a few more in the near future. We see this as a model that works, and it fits seamlessly into our focus on consumer confidence in the diamond trade.

Are you looking at promoting more number of Diamond companies setting their business in Antwerp? If yes, please elaborate on the same.

We are always looking to attract new diamond companies to Antwerp, provided they are ready to contribute to the positive and sustainable trading culture we have developed here. I already touched on what Antwerp offers, but I should further mention several important factors. Firstly, as most people in the industry know, diamond traders face a challenging environment when it comes to obtaining financing in a risk-averse financial system. We have been working tirelessly together with the government, the banks and financial innovators to solve financing issues locally. Antwerp has made significant strides to address key issues in this regard, including the adoption of the 'Carat Tax', which has solidified Antwerp's position as the world's leading diamond trade center, and is bringing companies back to Antwerp, precisely because of the stability and predictability of doing business here.

We are also extremely active when it comes to participating international trade missions, travelling to as well as welcoming foreign delegations throughout the entire year. This is all about communicating our message of Antwerp's unique value proposition in terms of our critical mass of diamond industry companies and services, our transparent and stable trading environment and the benefits of doing business here. We are confident in our model, and that confidence is growing among potential partners as well. The diamond industry is global, but actually not all that big. Word quickly gets around when your trade model earns diamond producing countries 15% more than in other trade hubs; people take note when the three newest mines in production bring their goods to Antwerp, or the when the President of Angola stops here first as he looks to reform his country's diamond industry. Antwerp adds value on many different levels. We have built a diamond capital worthy of the name, and believe they will come.