Leading players in the global industry, including producing countries and organizations, have signed an agreement that would see them create a collective marketing fund for natural diamonds.
Representatives from countries including Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo took part in the meeting in Angola on Wednesday to hammer out the details of the Luanda Accord. They discussed the details of the fund — geared toward the launch of a global generic marketing campaign — together with trade organizations such as the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA), India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), as well as diamond miner De Beers.
“The Luanda Accord marks a fundamental shift in the way our industry comes together to protect and promote the future of natural diamonds,” said GJEPC vice chairman Shaunak Parikh. “A unified global marketing push is no longer optional — it’s essential.”
The agreement in principle, which the parties have yet to finalize, includes a 1% donation of annual rough export value from each producing country, to be determined by Kimberley Process (KP) records. In total, the fund is expected to exceed $80 million, according to sources at the meeting, and it will be collected on a sliding scale based on the amount of rough each country sells. It will be up to individual governments to determine, together with the industry, the mechanism by which each participant will contribute to the group fund, which the Natural Diamond Council (NDC) will manage. The not-for-profit organization, which industry members fund, was created to help promote the global natural diamond trade.
Organizations will collect contributions from midstream buyers, AWDC CEO Karen Rentmeesters said, noting that the different trade groups represented thousands of companies that purchase rough.
“We estimate that about half the funding, at least, will come from those who buy rough diamonds,” Rentmeesters noted.
Getting started ASAP
Angola has already agreed to pledge $8 million up front, approximately 1% of its rough exports for the first half of the year, an amount De Beers will match. That allows the NDC to begin marketing immediately, Rentmeesters said.
However, participation is still open, and Rentmeesters sees the potential for other countries to join.
“We still need to define what we want to achieve and work out the finer details, but we have agreed that 1% of the value of the rough sold at source should be directed to NDC, and that those countries and organizations who have signed up to it have made a commitment.” she explained. “There might be more countries signing up in the future. I don’t think that’s excluded at this point in time.”
Rentmeesters acknowledged that organizers had not invited Russia to participate, and that Canada, with its three diamond mines, was not involved yet.
Making the decisions
With so many members taking part, the question of who makes the call on any marketing decisions and how the collective money should be spent is a big one. Unlike the KP, the NDC does not require a consensus vote. Rentmeesters said the most likely scenario would involve a representative from each participating country or organization joining the NDC’s board and agreeing on a plan, with the weight of each member’s desires directly proportional to the amount of their contribution. Meaning, if 1% of the rough exports of a country like Angola is $16 million annually, and 1% of another country yields a much lower figure, Angola would have more sway.
Board members will also be privy to the results of each campaign, including changes to natural-diamond sales figures and consumer response, which they will then use to determine the direction of future advertising.
“The idea is that we now have an NDC 2.0, and there will be a new structure, and in that structure, all those who commit to contribute will have a voice, and that voice means that they, together, determine what the course is for the new NDC.”
