A new trade organization was recently created to promote natural color diamonds.

Called the Natural Color Diamond Association NCDIA, Belgium, it boasts an international membership of rough diamond producers, diamond and jewelry manufacturers, and retailers.

Richard Werdiger, president of Michael Werdiger Inc., a New York diamond house, and Dilip Mehta, CEO and president of Rosy Blue, an Antwerp diamond supplier, founded the organization. Werdiger serves as president and Mehta, vice president. Other members are Hans Krieger, Kashikey, Kuwayama Corp., Louis Glick & Co, Rio Tinto Diamonds, and Tasaki Shinju.

The organization was founded as a result of a successful brown diamond campaign launched in Japan in 2002 by Kashikey a retailer and Rosy Blue. The organization said it hopes to continue to expand on the campaign.

“The NCDIA’s key objective is to change consumers’ perception and rightfully introduce color diamonds in the market,” Dilip Mehta, CEO and president of Rosy Blue, and NCDIA vice president, said in a statement. “Natural color diamonds are not merely exotic products. Fancy means fantasy, dream, and desire. And indeed, natural color diamonds are dream-like but they are real and they are authentic. You don’t need to imagine them, you can own and cherish them.”

Also, in response to the growing HPHT and synthetic marketplace, the NCDIA said it will actively promote the true value of natural diamonds. At the Antwerp Diamond Conference in November 2003, Hidetaka Kato, CEO of Kashikey, mentioned the organization’s scope for the first time: “The Brown project will collaborate in the NCDIA. Its objective is to promote the Natural Diamond and the Natural Color Diamond. In the wake of the HPHT and synthetic, this is a great initiative.”

The NCDIA members are currently preparing several promotional and educational programs. By working closely together, the organization aims to establish a strong network and thereby achieve long-term results. For more information about the NCDIA, go to www.ncdia.com.

JCK