Press Release
Antwerp, Belgium: April 28, 2008 - With two weeks to go before the start of the 2008 World Diamond Congress, preparations are in full swing in Shanghai, which will be hosting the first ever edition of the event to take place in China, as well as in Antwerp, the headquarters of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses. The congress is scheduled to open at the Portman Ritz-Carlton hotel in Shanghai on Monday, May 12, and it will close on Thursday, May 14.
Traditionally considered to be the most important and influential regular gathering of diamond industry leaders, the biennial World Diamond Congress is the venue at which assemble the general assemblies of the diamond industry’s two leading organizations, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA). This year marks the 33rd time the congress has been held.
Among the groups that will be making the trip to Shanghai this year are delegations from three new diamond bourses, who have put in formal applications to join the WFDB. They are the Diamond Dealers Club of Australia, the Istanbul Gold and Diamond Exchange and the Panama Diamond Exchange.
“This is quite remarkable,” said Ernest Blom, the WFDB president. “In my memory, I cannot remember a congress where three new bourses formally applied to join the federation. And what is particularly exciting is that each of these bourses are located in markets that previously had not been represented. This bodes very well for our industry and the diamond market.”
Among the many diamond industry leaders who will be traveling to China is Sergey Vybornov, president of Alrosa, who will be attending his first ever World Diamond Congress. Invited by the WFDB to address the Opening Session, his presence at the industry’s premier event underscores the growing role being played by the Russian company in the diamond business.
The hosts of this year’s event are the Shanghai Diamond Exchange and the CCJP Diamond Manufacturers Association.
The WFDB was founded in 1947 to unite and to provide bourses trading in rough and polished diamonds and precious stones, with a common set of trading practice.
The WFDB provides a legal framework and convenes to enact regulations for its 26 member diamond bourses.
The function of the WFDB is as diverse as the members who belong to it.
Ethics, good business practice and morality are paramount and these are protected vigorously by the Constitution of the WFDB which provides for Arbitration and Disciplinary procedures against any bourse member who transgresses the code.
The purpose of the WFDB is to promote understanding and closer co-operation between peoples all over the world who earn their livelihood in the diamond and precious stones trade.
Furthermore, it is the aim of the WFDB to encourage the establishment of bourses with a view to eventual affiliation
WORLD FEDERATION OF DIAMOND BOURSES Pelikaanstraat 62B-2018 Antwerpen, Belgium Tel. +32-3-2349121 Fax: +32-3-2264073 E-mail: info@worldfed.com Web: http://www.worldfed.com/
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Among the many diamond industry leaders who will be traveling to China is Sergey Vybornov, president of ALROSA, who will be attending his first ever World Diamond Congress. Invited by the WFDB to address the Opening Session, his presence at the industry’s premier event underscores the growing role being played by the Russian company in the diamond business.
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Independently Certified Diamonds
A Founding Member of the DDCA
wishes the
Diamond Dealers Club of Australia
the best of luck in their formal application
to join the WFDB
