Every great journey begins with a small step, and for the IGC Group, the Antwerp-headquartered diamond company that step was taken a century ago in 1912. It occurred when Jacques Claes, fired by an entrepreneurial spirit and assisted by his father, Frans Claes, an established and experienced diamond cutter, launched his own small business venture in the diamond industry.

The start of the 20th century was an important period in the history of Antwerp itself, with the city having begun to reestablish itself as a key centre of the diamond trade boosted by the discovery of diamond mines in South Africa in the late 19th century. Bourses had opened and were flourishing. For the next few decades the trade in Antwerp saw many ups and downs. Despite difficult times during the two world wars and the Great Depression between them, by around 1950, the diamond business once again began to stabilize.

During this period, the IGC Group, spearheaded by the enterprise of the Claes family, became a well established name. The diamonds that it manufactured were initially traded on the Antwerp market, and later distributed among a growing network of international customers.

The year 1955 marked an important new phase in the journey of the Group. It was the year when the company achieved an important new level of recognition and started sourcing rough diamonds directly from the trading division of De Beers, then a near monopoly supplier to the industry. Once established as a DTC sightholder, there has been no looking back, and IGC Group has continued to enjoy a strong and enduring relationship with the De Beers group ever since. It has just finalised a new contract for the 2012-2015 period, making it one of the oldest names on the DTC sightholders list.

A very strong customer base spread across diverse international locations has been one of the strong points of the group, and a key factor that has helped it sustain the relationship with De Beers. As the company itself puts it, “IGC Group has always been true to its strength: delivering the finest make in diamonds to its customer base, and always managing to create the highest added value to the different assortments of rough it is sourcing from the DTC.”

The group is renowned for its fine make in small brilliants, single cut and larger stones. Initially, the company evolved as a specialty manufacturer of small diamonds (0.70mm to 3 mm in diameter) and it was this expertise in high precision, highly calibrated polishing techniques that helped it develop as one of the strategic partners of the Swiss watch industry.

With their far sighted approach, the top management of the IGC Group saw the winds of change blowing through the industry fairly early, and made appropriate course corrections well before others. It was one of the earliest Antwerp-based companies to start manufacturing operations in Asia and the establishment of a large polishing factory in Thailand in 1980 became a major milestone in its history. At that time it was unique for an Antwerp diamond company manufacturing small stones to think of such a shift, but having found the Thai workers to be very professional with an excellent eye for detail, the top management had little or no hesitation in making the move.

In the mid 90’s the company gradually moved into polishing larger stones, up to 2.5 carat.

Later two more factories were set up by the group: the first in Laos in 1999. Laos, a neighbouring country north of Thailand, was a natural choice as it made the transfer of IGC’s high-tech manufacturing process very feasible. Less than a decade later, a third factory was set up in Botswana in 2007, and as history revealed, it was an early step in a direction that others were to subsequently follow. Today, IGC Group combines the four generations of diamond expertise of its owners with the proficiency of more than 1,800 highly skilled professionals to ensure a daily supply of the finest made diamonds to all corners of the world. As manufacturing output grew, sales offices were opened in various key global markets – New York, Hong Kong, Chennai, Shanghai and Chicago.

Each of these moves was a deeply thought out and carefully planned decision. The choice of Chennai reflects this approach. When Mumbai and Surat in the west were the hubs of India’s diamond industry, why did IGC Group opt for Chennai in the south? The answer is crystal clear. “As a specialised manufacturer in small goods in the finest make (in the higher colours and higher qualities), IGC Group found the south of India, which has traditionally always valued and set high quality, high coloured small diamonds in its fine jewellery, the best market to get a foothold on Indian ground.”

Together with its Belgian-Indian partner Beladamas, the group has established itself in the region, and IGC Beladamas Ltd. as the company is known, now services a large number of Indian retailers and jewellery manufacturers across the region.

Careful steps have also been taken to forward integrate with the jewellery segment elsewhere in the world. Understanding that the jewellery industry was changing very rapidly and ability to adapt quickly to emerging market opportunities, would be a key factor in success, the IGC Group established systems that were both flexible and innovative. Partnerships were forged with customers for mutually sustainable growth.

Though the group’s primary identity is as a supplier of loose diamonds, it has also set up IGC Jewellery Services, a comprehensive programme for its clients. Under this umbrella, companies who work with IGC can outsource their jewellery manufacturing requirements to one of the independent jewellery production units located in different parts of the world that have been carefully chosen for their quality and consistency. The programme offers clients a range of products and services from gold, silver and platinum casting to traditional setting and also micro-pavé setting.

Another initiative in this sector is IGC Brand Services, the US entity within IGC Group for creating and distributing wedding and fashion jewellery collections under the brand name ‘Southern African Diamonds’. IGC offers exciting consumer marketing campaigns supported by compelling material and a state-of-the-art inventory and sales management system to its partners in this programme.

The world wide operations are co-ordinated from Antwerp where a new state-of- the-art head office is under construction and expected to be ready in early 2013. The nine storey building will house all Antwerp facilities of IGC Group. The exterior of the building has a balanced and modern appearance and the glass façade as well as the height of the individual floors will make it an eye catcher in the Antwerp Diamond District.

“As the managing directors of IGC Group we are extremely proud of our global success as a truly Belgian company. Outstanding service and dedication to our customer´s business have been the key to our rapid and successful growth,” say Jacques & Luc Claes.

The company continues to meet the highest standards of the luxury retail market, making IGC Group the ideal strategic diamond partner of the Swiss watch industry, retailers and jewellery manufacturers worldwide.

“Our professional and dynamic team will continue to demonstrate the same innovative spirit by establishing successful partnerships with our customers worldwide,” adds Claes.

The centenary celebrations are not only a reminder of the exciting journey made thus far, but are also a reflection of the company’s vision to build an even brighter future together with its customers and partners.