GIA, Sex and the World Federation
March 16, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharWatching the chatterboxes on the Internet discuss the still evolving GIA Certifigate scandal, there seems to prevail an uneasy feeling that the bribers will get away with it. We don’t share that feeling, but agree that very little seems to be happening. However, the fact the Executive Committee of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses... Read More...
'For Immediate Sale: Exclusive Purchasing Rights of Attractive Diamond Production'
March 09, 06 by Chaim Even-Zohar“PDAC? What’s that?” asked one of the world’s major diamond manufacturers in a bewildered email, not understanding why I would go to Toronto when everybody else was going to Hong Kong ... Read More...
Thy Neighbor's Laundry
March 02, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharTwo countries – two different worlds. In the past we have noted the absurdity of the fact that a diamond transaction that is illegal in Belgium is totally legal a few kilometer’s north in the Netherlands. A specific example is the provision in the Belgian anti-money laundering law prohibiting the settlement in... Read More...
De Beers after 2008: No Russian Rough – Forever!
February 23, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharThe European Commission’s approval of the joint request by Alrosa and De Beers for a gradual phasing out of their trading relationship was expected. The only clause not approved was the initial request for the continuation of some form of... Read More...
Joining the Class
February 16, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharWhen De Beers announced that, as part of a settlement agreement in four specific consumer class actions for illegal overpricing of diamonds, it was putting $250 million in an escrow fund in the United States, we remarked that the company had become an “American Santa Claus”. This ... Read More...
A Market Premium for Fraud
February 09, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoarIn the aftermath of the “Certifigate” certification scandal, in which bribes secured “upgraded” grading reports, diamond merchants specializing in larger goods have gradually become aware of the continued presence of quite a number of mostly, or almost exclusively, large... Read More...
BHP Billiton to Market the Satellite Pipe Mine Production
February 02, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharOccasionally, a relatively minor news development inspires considerable food for thought. BHP Billiton has been appointed the exclusive marketer of the Satellite Pipe Mine in the Kingdom of Lesotho. In terms of volume, the annual production of ... Read More...
Premier Guy Verhofstadt Declares HRD Board as “Illegal” In Belgian Version of “West Wing” Soap Opera
January 26, 06 by Chaim Even ZoharThe producers of the popular U.S. television drama “The West Wing”, which provides a glimpse into American presidential politics in that nation's capital as it tells the stories of the members of a fictional presidential administration, ought to ... Read More...
HRD’s Choice: Globalization versus Nationalism
January 19, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharA coin has two sides that never meet but are connected by a rim. Since the coin won’t allow just one of its sides to move, the fate of both sides is permanently linked. This axiomatic analogy can be applied to the Belgian Diamond High Council (HRD), which seems to defy any laws of logic and – we hope only temporarily – seems to be rolling in the direction of self-destruction. Read More...
New Mountains of Transparency
January 12, 06 by Chaim Even-ZoharThe United States has now followed Europe, especially Belgium, in implementing diamond and jewelry industry specific Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance programs. The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has prepared a comprehensive, user-friendly, and in-depth AML Program Compliance Kit, which has one enormous advantage - its... Read More...
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