The Diamond Trading Company held its first “global roadshow” for non-sightholders on Thursday. DTC will host similar events in Tel Aviv on Sept. 28, Mumbai on Oct. 7, and Johannesburg on Oct, 25. The events are designed to provide non-sightholders with the DTC strategy to increase market demand for diamonds and provide a forum for these persons to speak directly with DTC officials.

“We have seen strong growth in the diamond jewelry market since we embarked on our strategy to grow consumer demand in conjunction with our Sightholders,” said Varda Shine, Sales DTC director. “However, we have always accepted that for diamond jewellery to compete successfully against other luxury goods over the long term, it must involve the entire industry. This is not something the DTC could achieve alone.”

Shine said the events are organized based on requests by diamond industry members who wanted a better understanding of DTC’s growth strategy. The Antwerp event was held in conjunction with the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.

“Given its importance as a global diamond center, Antwerp was selected as the venue for this inaugural event,” Shine said. “The presentations given today are also designed to outline how non-Sightholders may be able to benefit from the wide range of activities we are running to stimulate demand and maintain consumer confidence in diamonds.”

Three presentations were made at the Antwerp event:

* Fourth Quarter Marketing Programmes, given by Janet Sussens, the DTC’s regional marketing coordinator;

* Consumer Confidence, given by Andre Marais, senior project executive; and

* Supplier of Choice, given by Louise Prior, senior corporate communications executive.

JCK