DISC Returns to Represent America

by Rob Bates, senior editor -- JCK Online, 4/1/2005 2:00:00 AM

The long-moribund Diamond Industry Steering Committee—which for years served as the American industry's mouthpiece to the larger diamond world—is being revived in an effort to put the entire U.S. industry "under one umbrella."

At press time a DISC dinner had been proposed for March, set for a major New York hotel, to "gather together the industry's biggest players," said honorary chairman Eli Izhakoff.

The effort to restart DISC came from a suggestion from Diamond Dealers Club president Jacob Banda, after the groups worked together on last year's World Diamond Congress. The Congress showcased New York's diversity with performances by The Boys Choir of Harlem and Irish bagpipers from the New York Police Department's Emerald Society, as well as a dinner at the United Nations.

"The Congress put an inclusive face on New York," says Friedman. "You saw an event which was an international event."

Former Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America president Jeffrey Fischer called the effort "a giant leap toward providing a common voice for our common interests. We have a stronger voice and are more effective when we act in unison."

Banda; Ronald Friedman, chairman of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association; and Basant Johari, president of the Indian Diamond and Colorstone Association, will co-chair the revived group.