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On American Sightholders

August 17, 2007

Now that the sightholders applications have been filed, talking to New York sightholders and others in the industry, I am struck by the undercurrent of anxiety here. It is not just the articles from Chaim, prophesizing no New York sightholders. There is a very strong feeling that this may be New York’s last stand, and that its beleaguered cutting industry (down to several hundred cutters, from several thousand in the eighties) may receive a near-fatal blow in the latest sightholder selection.

No one is denying that Botswana, Namibia and South Africa should have a bigger cutting industry. These countries’ mines are the backbone of the diamond market. But let us also be clear: The United States is also the backbone of the diamond market, on the demand side. There would be no industry without it. That means something.

And who best to service this market? Some of the New York sightholders have been supplying U.S. retailers for generations. They know this market intimately. One can have all the best intentions – and wads of cash – but mastering the U.S. market from overseas is difficult. We have seen that time and time again.  This market is too important to leave to people who are still on a learning curve.  

You can go insane trying to puzzle out the intricacies of Supplier of Choice (I believe several sightholders already have.) But if “adding value” remains important, if the DTC still considers it important to be close to the retailer, and if the DTC is sincere about wanting to grow the overall market and increase demand, then I don’t see how they can turn their back on New York sightholders.  

By the way, yes, I’m biased. I am from New York. I have known most of the sightholders for years, and I like and respect them. They are all “excellent” companies, which De Beers says it’s looking for.  I can’t over-emphasize what a bad signal that sends when a company complies with the sightholder criteria, and then is dropped anyway. 

In its latest selection process, the DTC has a chance to show that its sightholder criteria really mean something, and that it really does want to do business with the brightest and the best.   Here’s hoping they do the right thing. Come on, DTC ... support the country that's supported you. Support America.


Posted by Rob Bates on August 17, 2007 | Comments (4)


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August 21, 2007
In response to: On American Sightholders
Ronnie van der Linden commented:

Great post Rob.

I hope the DTC is listening & reading very carefully.

Lets go USA!!! DTC re-issue all the USA sights today.




August 22, 2007
In response to: On American Sightholders
Homer commented:

It's hard to imagine the DTC completely turning its back on NYC... but they've made a variety of less-than-bright decisions in the past few years, and they're being pulled in a lot of different directions. They have a finite amount of rough and a lot of demands on it these days.

And, don't forget that no NYC sightholders doesn't mean no US sightholders.




August 23, 2007
In response to: On American Sightholders
Rob Bates commented:

Hi, Homer. I think most people in New York are hoping Chaim is wrong and that the DTC does not drop all its NY clients; the American market is so important you'd think they would still want local companies distributing their goods for them. I understand the constraints the DTC is under, but my understanding is that the amount allocated to New York is so small they could certainly continue to supply their NY (and US) clients. Finally, I do think one of the hidden agendas of SoC has been to reduce the amount of sightholders, which can be seen from its first launch (when they dropped about 30 clients, including half their then-clients in NY), and the new producer demands and all the rest simply give them a new reason to do this.




November 12, 2007
In response to: On American Sightholders
Julian West Des Moines IA commented:

The DTC are turning their backs on America which is perceived to be a market with declining buying power compared to the 1 billion new middle class emerging from India and China. As in the past when Japan was seen as the country that would dominate the world American ingenuity comes through. Within ten years we may synthetic diamonds dominate the domestic market, forcing the DTC to make as much money as possible in a short amount of time from its declining resources. Our retail clients would buy a made in America diamond of like kind and quality before they would buy a foreign or blood diamond. The DTC execs had it easy; bullying site holders now they have the rope to hang themselves with.





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