Antwerp: Shmuel Schnitzer, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and Marcel Pruwer, President of the Antwerp Diamond Bourse, issued a joined statement today, expressing support of the marketing efforts bourses in Antwerp and Ramat Gan have developed locally. The two presidents made the statement toward two distinct events that will take place in February – the Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair which will run February 1-3, and the International Diamond week in Israel, which will be held February 8-12.
“The premise of our bourses’ marketing efforts is the same,” Schnitzer said. “As bourse presidents, the mandate of the bourses’ leaders and boards is to create a marketing platform that will bring added value to our members and their clients. Each bourse builds that platform according to the perceived needs among the members! Our model is that of an inter-bourse diamond trading event where traders from bourses around the world as well as qualified diamond buyers come together on the world’s most spacious diamond trading floor to do business and network.”
“The platform of the Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair (ADTF), now in its sixth year, is predominantly aimed at the downstream market,” Pruwer continued. The three organizing bourses — the Antwerp Diamond Bourse, the Diamantclub van Antwerpen and the Antwerpsche DiamantKring — have branded the ADTF fair as a high-end, by-invitation-only diamond show, targeting international jewelry manufacturers, retailers and designers, as well as other qualified diamond buyers, including members of other bourses around the world. The fair takes place in the trading halls of the Bourse, the Club and the Kring, which are – for three days only – transformed into three exclusive exhibition spaces. We are proud to have become an important item on the annual jewelry fair calendar!”
“Of course, while we all compete in the global diamond market, we both think that our individual marketing efforts are important to all segments of the market. By increasing our business profiles, we seek to create higher demand and more business. Each bourse sets its own targets, but is careful not to create any conflicts of interest. I believe that the platforms in Antwerp and Ramat Gan complement one another and I encourage our members to go and see the success story the three bourses are creating in Antwerp,” Schnitzer said.
Subscribing to Schnitzer’s argument, Marcel Pruwer added: “For the first time since the inception of the International Diamond Week, members of the Antwerp Diamond Bourse will be taking part in February’s edition, together with colleagues of the Diamond Dealers Club of New York. I firmly believe that the networking will be intense and fruitful, and the business opportunities numerous.”
