A diamond may be forever, but it appears that De Beers’ famed Diamonds-International Awards are not. The prestigious biannual awards, last presented in January 2000, are up in the air for 2002. “We’re reassessing things,” says Brandee Dallow, spokeswoman for De Beers’ Diamond Information Center. She says De Beers is busy with its upcoming event at the Cannes Film Festival, to be sponsored by leading sightholders.

“They [the D-IA] are on hold right now,” she says. “We’ll alert the trade when we know.”