1. What are your current titles/functions in the diamond industry, both private and organizational?
Elected to the Board of Directors of the ‘Diamant Club van Antwerpen’ for the first time in 1992, I served the organisation uninterruptedly until today, being re-elected for the 9th time this year. In addition, since 2012, I am the Secretary-General of the WFDB.
Privately I stopped the activities of my company ‘Dialpha’ in 2019 at the age of 68.
2. Tell us about your journey in the diamond industry, how you began and where you are now.
I started to learn the processes of cleaving and polishing at the end of the golden sixties. I learned about diamond manufacturing and trade in an important Antwerp manufacturing company. I soon joined the sales team and started to assist foreign buyers with their purchases.
I founded my company Dialpha bvba, and in the early 1990’s concentrated on the Japanese market. This remained unchanged, thanks to good and loyal clients, until the end of my activities.
3. What is the current situation in the Belgian diamond industry? How have economic and geopolitical conditions impacted the local diamond and jewelry industries?
These are challenging times for the Belgium diamond industry. There are several reasons why the local diamond sector has been impacted in the last two years.
On one hand, as with the other trade centers, Antwerp has seen a drastic reduction in the global demand for natural diamonds. This reduction in demand, which has compelled the major mining companies to reduce diamond production and sales, stemmed from both economic turmoil, in some cases due to inflation, and from increased lab grown diamonds.
On the other hand, the geopolitical tensions have also impacted the industry. The sanctions imposed by the G7 countries on Russian origin diamonds, including those processed in third countries, have impacted Antwerp more than other diamond centers.
The reduction in the production of major diamond mines has been instrumental in stabilizing the prices for natural diamonds.
The elections in Botswana, the talks between the government of Botswana and the management of De Beers are reasons to be confident about their continued collaboration in the future.
Also, Antwerp remains the main port of entry for diamonds for the high-end jewelry market, dominated by major European brands. These brands put a lot of effort in making their supply chains even more sustainable and transparent. The traceability and the compliance levels in Antwerp, which are second to none, help the Antwerp sector in serving these brands.
The industry call to action launched by WFDB is clear: we have to work together to secure a great future for natural diamonds.
4. In your opinion, what are the challenges and opportunities facing the local and the world diamond industry.
On the local level, the enormous know-how and great experience of manufacturing will remain to be an important asset for Antwerp. The growing competition of other diamond centers and the high labour cost locally demands immediate attention.
On the worldwide level, the current uncertainties due to several conflicts remain a concern. If these conflicts will come to a peace in 2025, I am confident that our wonderful sector will successfully grow.
5. Looking forward, how do you think the diamond industry will fare during the current holiday season? In 2025?
Some signs indicate that there is room for some optimism for the current holiday season. As far as 2025 is concerned we strongly believe that this will also be the case for the year to come.
