As the festive season - which usually marks heavy business months for the diamond industry, draws near, the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) president Avi Paz is confident that it will be a busy period this year too. "As the pace of polished sales is now set in the major Asian markets, in particular in China and India, we have good reason to be optimistic about significant growth in those markets. We are hearing positive forecasts for the upcoming fairs and I expect diamond prices to remain strong." he said.

He encouraged building creative strategies to tap the established markets of US and Europe. "By taking an optimistic stance, we will contribute to the markets' and the consumers' mindset and motivate them toward recovery," he remarked. He credited the strength of the diamond industry to evolve from the recession of 2008, saying "Our industry recovered faster than other luxury product industries, reducing its financial debts while at the same time improving its production and sales. That is no small accomplishment".

The holiday season will begin at the time of the Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair in mid-September. Honk Kong will also be the venue of the Third WFDB Asia Summit meeting, where discussions wil be held on how WFDB affiliated Asian bourses can advance diamond sales and increase the market share of diamonds and diamond jewellery in the various Asian retail and consumer markets. To that effect, at the summit, the participants expect to network with heads of jewellery organizations from diamond consuming countries that do not have diamonds bourses, such as Indonesia and Malaysia.