What's Up With the IDB

The departure of Sergey Vybornv from Alrosa seems to have cause the International Diamond Board a serious bump in the road, at least judging from the “letter to participants” it released today.

Vybornov was a prime mover in the St. Petersburg meeting that led to the creation of the IDB, which was conceived as an entity that would underwrite worldwide “generic” marketing for diamonds.  Apparently his replacement is still, in the words of the letter, “reviewing” the idea, so he can “familiarize itself with the project and implications before making a commitment.”

I know the group was interviewing and I hear they were very close to hiring a CEO. Whatever happens with Alrosa, I think that De Beers, Rio and BHP are big enough companies, and have enough of a stake in the diamond business, that they should move forward on the IDB on their own. It’s simply too important to keep being held up.

It’s interesting that Harry Winston’s name was left of the letter (which was signed by De Beers, Rio and BHP), even though it was one of the original five companies behind the Initiative (Alrosa was the fifth). Some took this mean that its support, like Alrosa’s, may be more tenuous than it originally appeared …