The Fifth Antwerp World Diamond Conference, scheduled for November 17 and 18 in Antwerp has been postponed, amidst the present economic crisis. “The conference has traditionally served as a roadmap for the world diamond community, and as such has come to be regarded as a must-attend event on the industry calendar. With the turmoil now taking place in the financial markets, we felt that it is essential that we allow the dust to settle first. We therefore thought it prudent to postpone the conference” said Freddy J. Hanard, the AWDC CEO. This is despite conference receiving a positive response from the industry for attendance.

AWDC currently is studying alternative dates for the Fifth Antwerp Diamond Conference. Hanard also added, “Our priority now is to focus and analyse the most important issues facing the diamond industry and how we, at AWDC, can support the market.”

The diamond market is facing the heat of this slowdown, as global consumer demand falls for luxury products. The upside to this is that with the lack of investor’s confidence in stocks, bonds and other financial instruments, diamonds and diamond jewellery may be considered a safe haven.