INTRODUCTION
One year ago, at this very gathering, I stood before you and said while conventional wisdom held that 2009 would be one of the industry’s most difficult and extraordinary periods, I thought it would be our proudest moment. I said that years from now, when they write the history of this period, it would be those who kept their heads, those who remembered the intrinsic qualities that make diamonds the most desired product on Earth and treated it as a ‘treasure of nature’ deserves to be treated, that would weather and emerge from the storm set for long-term growth.

We all recognised then that we had to take painful and extraordinary actions in the short-term so we could enjoy long-term growth.

Today, one year and a considerable amount of pain later, I am proud of how the industry has risen to these challenges. And I am more confident about the future of diamonds than ever before.

While the industry has been through a lot, and is by no means back to ‘normal’ – the short term remains uncertain, the evidence suggests that the recession has begun to give way to recovery. The question I’m most often asked these days by people in the diamond business and beyond is, ‘how long will the recovery take?’ To me though, this is the wrong question. The real question, ‘where will the recovery take us?’

I believe that the idea of what is normal – the period that ended in mid-2008 – is now abnormal. Instead, the diamond industry is the author of the ‘new normal’ - a more sustainable state that fully appreciates the diamond as a finite ‘treasure of nature’ and acts accordingly. As the premier diamantaires of the world and the heads of companies that have helped shape the industry for generations, you along with De Beers and the DTC as your partner, will shape the direction of the industry for years to come....

 To read the full speech please click on the attachment below.