Diamond Dealers Club Wants to Bring Business Back

Diamond Dealers Club president Reuven Kaufman says his main goal is to bring trading back to America’s premier bourse.

Kaufman, who won reelection to the presidency in June, adds that the club’s recent Israel Week was a huge success—and he thinks it presents a template going forward.

“It was such a beautiful thing to behold,” he says. “Every single table was filled. It was like the old days.”

Kaufman now plans to do future weeks for Chinese and Indian buyers. He also wants to attract more retailers to the bourse.

“We would love to extend our hand to the American jeweler,” he says. “We need to bring back the relationship-driven industry.”

He said he is hoping to reach out to retail organizations and possibly to do “mini-shows” with them. 

“We have to show people that New York has the goods,” he says. “New York has long been the best-kept secret in the diamond industry.”

Kaufman notes the diamond industry is “one of the largest exporters of tangible goods in New York state” and hopes to increase communication with local politicians—noting that New York City mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio visited the DDC during Israel Week. 

“America needs jobs, and we can create jobs,” he says. 

The DDC president also has been visiting many rough producers and hopes to continue to “raise the flag.”

Kaufman adds that he wants to continue to reach out to other industry groups—particularly the other New York City group, the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers of America (DMIA), with whom past DDC leadership has squabbled in the past.

“They are an excellent group, and we have an excellent relationship,” he says.

He notes the club, which was losing money for years, has saved funds by consolidating its executive office and getting its fiscal house in order as well as by attracting more members.

“We are solidly in the black today,” Kaufman says.

 

 

 

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JCK News Director

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