The Israel Diamond Industry Portal site, www.israelidiamond.co.il, operated by the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies, has been upgraded with new features and services of special use to the diamond and jewelry industries.

Picking up on the success of Web-based, interactive encyclopedias, the portal has added its own version, Wikidiamond, dealing exclusively with diamond and jewelry terms. The interactive lexicon has already posted a number of entries, and invites readers to propose additional terms and create content.

In addition, the portal has added some useful tools, such as a currency converter and an interactive index of polished diamond prices, based on data supplied daily by the Polished Prices website.

The portal has also expanded its news coverage to include financial news from Israel and around the world. Moreover, the site now features in-depth articles about a variety of subjects of interest to diamond and jewelry professionals—including the Internet, the economy, new markets, and technologies—as well as monthly video interviews of industry personalities.

Under development is a new section of essential information about diamond trading countries worldwide (such as main cities, embassies, currency, weather, banks, courier companies, Jewish life and more.) In addition, the “Diamond Needs Board” feature is being upgraded to make it even more user-friendly.

The IDI portal, which leads Internet traffic among industry sites, is the only such site of any diamond center in English, Hebrew, and Chinese. It functions as a daily work tool and venue for the diamond industry in Israel and worldwide, providing industry news, in-depth articles, interviews, photos, and video clips. It also creates a B2B marketplace for the exchange of business contacts that lead to actual transactions. With thousands of registered users in 128 countries, the portal is a dynamic site, with content being updated throughout the day.

JCK