Israel to Polish Large Diamonds from China

RAPAPORT... Chinese diamond companies will send large stones forpolishing at a new manufacturing facility in Israel, the Middle East nation'sindustry body said. Bourses in the two countries reached the agreement thisweek during a visit to Israel by Lin Qiang, president of the Shanghai DiamondExchange (SDE) (pictured, right). The new factory is due to open inJanuary at the next International Diamond Week in Israel. The deal is part of a wider memorandum of understanding (MoU)Qiang signed with Yoram Dvash, his counterpart at the Israel Diamond Exchange(IDE) (left).Under that MoU, the two nations' diamond industries will also make offices andother trading spaces available for each other to use, and allow jointparticipation in educational courses, the Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) saidWednesday. Both sides will also help each other develop their diamondindustries. "This is a very unusual situation, whereby Chinesediamantaires will send their large diamonds to be polished in Israel," Dvashsaid. "It is testimony to the well-known expertise of the Israeli polishers andthe technological advances of the industry here."Israel's polishing sector has dwindled as lower costs have helped India increase its market share. However, cutting of bigger diamonds has largely remained in Israel due to local expertise, the country's industry leaders claim. The IDE and the IDI are investing more than $3 million in the new large-stonemanufacturing plant in the Ramat Gan bourse complex in an attempt to reinvigorate its polishing trade.It will feature two cutting centers, spanning 1,100 squaremeters, and will employ about 150 polishers. The organizations expect thefactory to yield thousands of polished stones per year from 5 carats upward.Image: Yoram Dvash/Facebook