Mumbai Exchange Mulls Lifting Synthetics Ban

RAPAPORT... Mumbai's Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) is considering allowingsynthetic-diamond trading on the exchange premises, its president told RapaportNews this week. Some members have asked management to reconsider its 2015ban on selling lab-grown diamonds anywhere in the BDB's vast office complex,Anoop Mehta said. The bourse will consult with members after the Diwalivacation season, and could call a vote in the first quarter of next year, he added. "One of the prime reasons [for outlawing lab-grown diamonds]was that detection was a major problem at that time," Mehta explained. "Detectionhas come a long way, so we will relook at it." Most diamantaires are unlikely to back the change as itwould damage their business, according to a trader at a member company, who wasnot aware that the matter was on the table. The bourse expects to brief members in informal meetings inDecember once traders have returned from Diwali, Mehta said. It will also usethose events to discuss the issues and ensure voters make an informed decision,he added. The BDB declared the bourse a "natural-diamond zone" inOctober 2015, claiming it was the first exchange to do so. Which exchanges allow trading in laboratory-grown diamonds?Belgium: Antwerp's bourses admit companies that tradesynthetics, provided that they give fullproduct disclosure. Dubai: The Dubai Diamond Exchange doesn't track whether tradersare dealing in natural or lab-grown diamonds, but members must comply with itsbylaws and make appropriate disclosures. Hong Kong: The DiamondFederation of Hong Kong, China, does not currently admit lab-grown-diamondcompanies to its membership. India: The Bharat Diamond Bourse banned synthetics from the entire complex in 2015, and is now considering requests to change that. Israel: Members can't deal in synthetics on theIsrael Diamond Exchange trading floor, but the rule doesn't apply to offices inthe bourse building. US: The Diamond Dealers Club of New York had notconfirmed its policy to Rapaport News at press time.Sources: Bourse and organization spokespeopleImage: Bharat Diamond Bourse.