The International Diamond Council (IDC) will see the exit of its former chairman Edward Asscher who is being succeeded by Stéphane Fischler. The decision was taken at the Presidents' Meeting in Amsterdam, in June, by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) – the parent bodies of the IDC.

Fischler mentioned that as the IDC chairman he would like to address the issue of nomenclature for synthetic diamonds. “We hope that the synthetic diamond producers agree to openly describe their products as ‘synthetic,’ ‘man-made’ or ‘laboratory-grown,’ which clearly will differentiate them from natural diamonds”.

He also said “"We would like to achieve a minimum ISO certification standard for procedures at

Fischler is currently Secretary General and Treasurer of IDMA, and is also Vice President of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) and President of the European Council of Diamond Manufacturers.