(IDEX Online) - The Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai said preparations are progressing according to schedule for plans to open registration for the second edition of the Bharat Diamond Week at the bourse.
The Bharat Diamond Week will take place from October 8-10, following the success of the first edition held from April 23-25 where in excess of 1,000 visitors from India and across the world did business with 150 Indian exhibitors of polished goods.
Bharat Diamond Bourse Vice-President Mehul Shah, who heads the Bharat Diamond Week project, said: "We learned many lessons from the first show earlier this year and we are working on implementing them in order to ensure that the next Diamond Week is even more successful. We want to create business for our many small and medium-size members - these are the companies that benefit from this type of inter-bourse fair. They need assistance due to the intense global competition in order to stand out from the crowd and show what they can offer by bringing them together with potential clients."
BDB President Anoop Mehta said: "It is critical that we again provide a seamless registration process. Interested parties want to be able to register quickly, with the minimum fuss and in complete security. We are working to ensure that this is exactly what will happen.
"Beyond that, we are already planning for the show itself in terms of expanding it within the space that we have available to provide room for as many Indian exhibitors as possible. Our aim is quite simply to encourage as much business as possible for BDB members. We will provide the facilities and setting for the show to happen and for business to take place," Mr Mehta said, adding that the BDB will again provide approximately 150 complementary hotel rooms in order to encourage foreign buyers to attend.
The BDB plans to hold two shows a year with exhibitors offering polished diamonds in all shapes, sizes and colours. "Each company that wins the right to display at the Bharat Diamond Week is entitled to one booth," said Shah. "Priority will be given to visitors who are members of bourses affiliated to the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), but all members of the diamond trade across the world are welcome to participate.
Shah added that October will be a busy month for the Bharat Diamond Bourse and the Indian diamond trade, with many members of the global diamond industry visiting Mumbai. "Following the Bharat Diamond Week, we will be holding a meeting of the World Diamond Council on October 22 which is being organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), and then we are hosting the World Diamond Congress from October 23 to 25. We are delighted to be able to hold the meetings here because it is critical that the global diamond industry meets every year to discuss the major issues affecting it. We will also be holding a Bharat Diamond Week in New York from October 29 to 31."