Russian diamond mining major Alrosa and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) entered a new extended cooperation agreement late last month. The agreement was signed in Moscow by Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov and AWDC CEO Ari Epstein, the miner reported in a press release. The new deal both extends their existing cooperation and expands the extent of their future cooperation to address new diamond market challenges; it will be valid for three years.
“Belgium is the world’s largest diamond trading centre and Alrosa’s largest trade partner,” highlighted Ivanov. “In 2017 alone, Alrosa supplied rough diamonds worth over $2-billion to companies in Belgium. Alrosa has 55 long-term clients who buy gem-quality rough diamonds, and 21 of them are companies from Belgium. That is why we are interested in the cooperation with this market and its industry organisations. “The AWDC is Alrosa’s long-standing and reliable partner with vast experience, and I am confident that the new agreement will allow us to further strengthen our cooperation and aim our joint efforts at the development of the industry.”
“Alrosa and the AWDC have been working together for more than 15 years,” pointed out Epstein. “Alrosa today is the world’s largest rough diamond supplier, accounting for 31% of [the] diamond trade in Antwerp by volume and 21% by value. We set a high value on the existing collaborative experience with the Russian party and with Alrosa, and we will strive to further strengthen our cooperation and work together for the development of diamond markets in Russia and Belgium.”
The agreement includes a number of joint initiatives and mutual support measures, based on a foundation of a continuing exchange of information about the diamond market. Among other things, they will continue their strong cooperation in the World Diamond Council (WDC) to bring to completion the reform of the WDC’s System of Warranties, as well as support the WDC in its role as an industry participant in the Kimberley Process (the international certification programme that seeks to stop the supply of rough diamonds mined in conflict zones and protect the legitimate trade in the precious stones).
Also, the AWDC will support initiatives undertaken by Alrosa with other Diamond Producers Association members to generically market diamonds, stimulate market demand and maintain their value. In addition, the AWDC and Alrosa will provide mutual support in advancing their own initiatives.
The two parties also agreed that they would “pay great attention” (in the words of the press release) to the issue (bluntly called the “problem”) of synthetic stones illegally entering the rough and polished diamond trade. “The parties agreed to jointly promote and protect the procedure of differentiation in rough diamonds and synthetic stones, including support of industry initiatives,” stated the release. To this end, the AWDC will permit thorough checks and endorse the deployment of technologies which can detect synthetic diamonds. These include a technology developed by Alrosa (in cooperation with Russia’s Federal State Budgetary Institute Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials) called Diamond Inspector.
Diamond Inspector was publicly launched earlier this year and was described by Alrosa as Russia’s first commercial system able to distinguish between synthetic and natural polished diamonds, as well as identify non-diamond imitations (for example, cubic zirconia). It combines low cost ($9 900 per unit) with high accuracy (it uses three optical detection methods) and is being manufactured and marketed by a joint venture company, Diamond Scientific & Technological Centre. “It will help fight unscrupulous suppliers who mix synthetic stones grown in the laboratory with diamonds of natural origin,” affirmed Alrosa. The device was first publicly demonstrated on March 20.