According to industry reports, Belgium’s Diamond High Council (HRD) has been officially disbanded and has been replaced by a foundation that will have a divided structure, the first being the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), which will be responsible for non-profit activities, and an independent company, HRD Antwerp NV, which will encompass the old organisation’s commercial divisions.

“One cannot overstate how important this restructuring is for the two organisations,” said AWDC chief executive officer Freddy Hanard. “In the modern diamond business environment, the challenges facing both are great and varied. It is essential that they be streamlined and empowered to act so that they achieve their goals in the best way possible.”

The AWDC will be responsible for representing the collective interests of the Belgian diamond sector with all municipal, provincial, regional and federal and international bodies.

HRD Antwerp NV, which began operating on May 2, is a commercial operation with currently five divisions: the diamond lab, formerly HRD certificates; the precious stones lab; education, formerly the HRD Institute of Gemmology; HRD Research; and HRD Equipment, formerly Comdiam.

Both AWDC and HRD Antwerp NV will have separate brand identities and corporate logos.