Does the AWDC Board Represent Belgium?

RAPAPORT… The Antwerp diamond community elected new board members of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the city’s umbrella organization for promoting its diamond industry worldwide, in mid-June. Of the 12 board members, the six who are known as “the trade group” attracted most of the attention because they have the greatest influence on the board — and on its agenda.

The trade group represents all registered diamond companies in the city. Two representatives each are elected in each of three categories, based on their annual trade turnover. Category 1 represents companies with the highest turnover, in excess of 100 million euros (approximately $120 million), category 2, turnover between 30 million euros (approximately $35 million) and 100 euros and category 3, turnover between 500,000 euros ($600,000) and 30 million euros. Category 3 has the largest number of companies, with 695 represented. There are 44 companies in category 1 and 106 in category 2.

An AWDC press release reported that Amit Bhansali of Rosy Blue and Nishit Parkh of Diarough were elected to the board in category 1, Sohil Jhaveri of Sauraj Diamonds and Nishit Kothari of Jewelex in the second category and Mihir Mehta of Dianco Star and Samir Mehta of Sneh Diam in category 3.

Caroline Germain, spokesperson of the AWDC, explained that “Together with the diamantaires already elected to the board, the new board is a democratic representation of the trade. We hope that this new board will help us address the many challenges that lie ahead for Antwerp.” Philippe Barsamian, Freddy Inzlicht and Jacky Korn were elected to the board as representatives of the city’s three diamond exchanges and Stéphane Fischler was elected to represent diamond manufacturers. The director representing the labor union and the independent board member are yet to be elected.

Keeping it Cordial

Henri Keesje of Isaac Keesje & Zoon, a defeated candidate in category 3, commented that “It was like an Indian tsunami, well organized, disciplined. I wanted to help defend the ideas of the smaller companies. My general proposal was to set up a committee that would initiate the adoption of a structured and systematic approach to development and marketing in order to maintain a worldwide competitive edge for Antwerp.
 
“We didn’t want to represent any specific community, “continued Keesje, “but the trade in general. Anyway, I want to congratulate the Indians on the way they did it. It was a cordial and very respectful challenge between us, with always a very good spirit. For example, when counting the votes, each time one Indian candidate was reaching 100 votes, they applauded and congratulated one another and when I got 100 votes, they applauded, too. There were lots of volunteers working on the elections for the Indian candidates, proof that they were deeply involved in the process. For the Indian members, it seems very important to vote.”

Thierry Polakiewicz of Bedimex agreed that “The Indian diamantaires were very strong in the way they were organized. The big drama is that the non-Indians don’t really care about AWDC elections, but they’re the first ones to complain about AWDC actions. I don’t think it would have changed anything in their opinion had I been elected anyway, It’s not a personal issue. I hope the new board will manage to realize its objectives and help safeguard the interests of Antwerp.”

No Representation for Non-Indians

However, there does seem to be a real discrepancy between the board members elected to be representatives of the trade and the companies active in the trade. Although six of the six trade representatives are Indians, more than half of the registered companies are non-Indians. To the Antwerp diamantaires, it seems odd that the category where non-Indian companies represent the majority of the companies — that is, category 3 — is represented by two Indians. André Gumuchdjian, a member of the Belgium Polished Diamond Traders Association (BVGD), commented “Since it’s the IBDA (Indo-Belge Diamantaires Association) that selected the two company representatives that the Indian diamond community was to vote for in each category, it appears that, one way or another, the major companies managed once again to dictate the rules. The problem is not ethnic at all, it’s just a matter of a handful of big companies’ interests that are being taken into account at the expense of the smaller players.”

A few years ago, the opposite was true. The AWDC board, formerly known as the Diamond High Council (HRD) board, was dominated by non-Indians… and, in spite of that, the management of the HRD/AWDC was also continuously complained about. It was only in 2004 that the first two Indians were elected to the board. Whatever individual opinions exist regarding what may be perceived as an ethnic vote, people seem to agree that there are very capable people among those who were just elected, and that is what’s most important. After all, the fact that the Indians have been so eager to be represented on the AWDC board is also an indication of their interest in promoting Antwerp. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t bother with the elections. They might just as easily have gone to another diamond center, which they didn’t.

The Marketplace

Polished
• Demand for 1 carat+ is stable, in spite of the fact that the European market is a little weak due to the increase in the exchange rate of the dollar against the euro.
• JCK Las Vegas was reportedly okay, which is seen as a sign of possible recovery in the U.S. market.

Rough
• Small and medium companies are complaining that the price increases by the mining companies are excessive.