Antwerp: A team of World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) officials will be participating on behalf of the World Diamond Council (WDC) in events during the Plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) which takes place in Dubai, UAE, from November 13-17. Other WFDB members will be attending the five days of meetings and discussions as observers. The events include a panel discussion as part of the Third Forum on Rough Diamond Evaluation hosted by KP Chair Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and a Special Forum on synthetics or man-made diamonds.

The Forum on Rough Diamond Evaluation will discuss a generic set of valuation criteria for rough diamonds between industry stakeholders. The meeting will build on discussions from the two previous meetings held on the subject, with the last taking place in Antwerp in October. Meanwhile, the second event aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the current state of synthetic diamond production and its possible effects on the natural, mined diamond sector.

“The meetings and panel discussions being held during the Plenary meeting will deal with issues that are vital to the diamond trade,” said WFDB President Ernie Blom. “Rough diamond evaluation is a difficult subject, so discussing valuation criteria is extremely helpful.

“As for the synthetics topic, there will be panels featuring top-line participants from across the diamond pipeline. We will be receiving the latest estimates on synthetic production and then having an in-depth discussion on the subject. I believe that this is the perfect time, during the KP Plenary meeting, which will hear reports on many important issues relating to conflict diamonds, to discuss wider topics pertaining to our business,” Blom added.