Israel�s Young Diamond Manufacturers Get Special Attention

The joint conference of the Forum of Young Manufacturers of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IsDMA), headed by Shmuel Schnitzer, and the Young Generation of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), led by Rafi Yerushalmi, attracted dozens of young diamantaires. Also present at the event were IsDMA President Moti Ganz, Israel Diamond Controller Shmuel Mordechay, IDE Managing Director Yair Cohen and IsDMA Managing Director Moti Besser. Shmuel Schnitzer opened the event with the words, �The younger generation of diamantaires is our future. If we nurture them the future of the industry is ensured.� Rafi Yerushalmi stressed the importance of bringing the manufacturing process back to Israel.

The event heard an address by Dan Ben Ary, President of Parazar Brand Boutique about the importance of branding in the diamond industry. Pinchas Fosailoff of Paz Diamonds, one of the senior members of the bourse, talked about the importance of maintaining one�s reputation. �If you learn to protect your name, and work to reach the farthest corners of the world, the sky is the limit,� he said.

Ariella Cohen, Marketing Director of Diamdel, presented the company�s special program for young manufacturers. Ten percent of the company�s sales of rough diamonds in Israel, she said, were directed to the younger generation. Rafi Yerushalmi asked Cohen, as Diamdel representative, to provide even greater amounts of rough to the younger manufacturers. He said that while Diamdel did introduce a special program for the younger members, the other brokers had not responded to the industry�s request.

Participants requested the help of industry leaders in training new diamond polishers. Moti Ganz, Shmuel Schnitzer and Rafi Yerushalmi proposed to prepare a program to train young polishers, through the Israel Diamond Institute and the Technology Center.
Other subjects discussed were the anti-money laundering legislation introduced in the United States, and Israeli industry efforts to modify it, rough sources which are expected to get a boost from Russian and Canadian suppliers, and the growing importance of the Internet as a marketing tool for the diamond industry.