The Israeli Diamond Industry introduced a new marketing
campaign, “Welcome to Israel,” at the group’s annual press lunch at Baselworld
on March 25.

“We want to welcome you to Israel, whether you are in Basel,
at other diamond and jewelry shows, online, or actually visiting Israel, where
you are all most welcome of course,” Eli Avidar, Israel Diamond Institute
Group of Companies managing director, said in a statement.

Avidar also stated that most of Israel’s leading diamond
companies saw their exports increase by over 50 percent in 2010, and that they
were on their way to reaching pre-crisis export levels.

IDI announced it would be opening a new office in the Bharat
Diamond Bourse in Mumbai, would be expanding its participation in trade shows,
especially in India and Hong Kong, and would be working toward establishing a
rough diamond sourcing group in Israel.

IDI also launched a new iPhone application for the diamond
industry. The app, which works on iPads as well, was developed by the IDI
portal and offers a up-to-date news and information, and also allows users to
conduct business from anywhere in the world. Companies can easily upload their
diamond requirements via the Israel Diamond Institute portal, and dealers
wishing to supply those diamonds can contact the relevant company via the
application. The iPhone application also features a directory of Israeli
diamond companies, banks and gemological labs, which can be contacted directly
from the iPhone.

The guest speaker at the luncheon was Reuven Kuvent,
outgoing CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Israel, who spoke about the accelerated
growth of Asian economies, especially China and India, and its impact on
consumer demand and the diamond industry.

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