Fostering an appreciation about how diamonds benefit African countries is key to effectively promoting them abroad.
That’s the message Canadian Gem president Pierre Akkelian delivered to the Diamond Processing Exchange Conference in Gaborone, Botswana, last November.
Presented by World Bank South- South Initiative, the conference gathered experts from Armenia, Lesotho, Botswana, Mauritius, and Namibia to share their knowledge and experiences about policy choices made in their respective countries to enhance diamond sector competitiveness.
“Most of us living in the affluent West have a soft spot in our hearts for Africa,” said Akkelian, founder of the Armenian Jewellers Association (AJA) and past president of the Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA). “All else being equal, consumers everywhere would undoubtedly choose Kimberley Process- (KP-) compliant and certified African diamonds over generic ones.”
Sharing his experiences regarding the early days of Canadian diamonds, Akkelian likened the difficulties in Canada of creating a synchronized approach for developing an internationally recognized brand to the challenges of securing co-operation from various African countries and industry players to market their diamonds more effectively.
In addition, Akkelian predicted machines will produce diamond certificates with minimum human intervention within the next two decades, and that sales of synthetic diamonds will surpass those of natural diamonds.
