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Eli Izhakoff is an American businessman in the international diamond and jewelry industry, filling a variety of public positions since 1979.
A member of a family that pioneered the diamond industry both in the United States and Israel, he is a partner at J. Izhakoff & Sons, a diamond manufacturing and import/export firm, with offices in New York. [1]
In 1979, he first joined the board of directors of the (Diamond Dealers Club), in New York, the largest diamond exchange in the United States, and in the years that followed held several senior positions, including chairman of the board and secretary. He was elected to serve as treasurer-general of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, a global body that unites diamond exchanges around the world in 1986, and was appointed a member of its executive committee.[ citation needed ]
In January 1990, Izhakoff was elected president of the Diamond Dealers Club and conceived and formed the Diamond Industry Steering Committee, an umbrella organization of the four diamond trade associations in New York, and served as its first chairman. [2]
At the World Diamond Congress, which was held in May 1991 in London, England, Izhakoff was unanimously elected president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). He was unanimously re-elected for a second term at the following World Diamond Congress, which was held in Antwerp, Belgium, in June 1993. At the World Diamond Congress held in Tel Aviv, Israel, in May 1996, he was unanimously re-elected for a third term as WFDB president. [3]
During his term as WFDB president his played an instrumental role the expansion of the federation, and oversaw the establishment of new diamond bourses in Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, China, Russia and India. [4] [5]
In June 1995, Izhakoff played a key role in the organization of an international diamond summit, attended by many industry leaders, which revealed for the first time to the world the scope of the Russian diamond industry. It began with a conference in Moscow, and continued with a tour of various mining sites in the Republic of Sakha, during which its president, Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev, presented awards of recognition to Izhakoff, Nicholas Oppenheimer and Gary Ralfe of De Beers, and Maurice Tempelsman of Lazare Kaplan International. [6]
Upon completion of his third term as WFDB president at the World Diamond Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, in July 1998, he was unanimously elected as Honorary Life President of the WFDB. [7] [8]
Following the emergence of the conflict diamond crisis in Africa in the late 1990s, Izhakoff was requested by industry leaders to head a new organization that would coordinate efforts to end the trade in rough diamonds financing civil conflict. Called the World Diamond Council (WDC), it was established at the World Diamond Congress in Antwerp, Belgium, in July 2000, and he was unanimously elected as its founding president. [9]
Over the three years that followed, Izhakoff worked together with government representatives from around the world and representatives of civil society, to create an international system that will regulate the flow of rough diamonds into the distribution pipeline, in order to eliminate the presence of merchandise from areas of civil conflict. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, of which he is considered an architect, was accepted an implemented in 2003, and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. It is recognized as having reduced the number of conflict diamonds in the pipeline from more than 4 percent of the total to less than one tenth of 1 percent. [10]
In November 2006, Izhakoff, briefed G8 ministers in Moscow on the Kimberley Process and its success as a possible model to meet the challenges of global terror. [11]
A critical achievement was recorded during the 7thWorld Diamond Council Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, in July 2010, when the Kimberley Process was able to reach consensus on an agreement that would enable the renewal of rough diamond exports from the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe, solving a crisis that threatened to paralyze the rough diamond trade. Izhakoff had earlier invited the Kimberley Process to hold a mini-summit in St. Petersburg alongside the World Diamond Council, in a further attempt to reach agreement over Marange. As a result, a senior delegation from the government of Zimbabwe, including Minister of Mining Obert Moses Mpofu, and Zimbabwe's attorney general, Johanne Tomama, traveled to St. Petersburg for the meeting. So did a high-level delegation from the U.S. State Department led by Susan Page, Assistant U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. [12]
Just prior to the WDC Annual Meeting in St. Petersburg, Zimbabwe had released from custody Farai Maguwu, a local human rights activist who it earlier had been accused of providing false information prejudicial to the state in connection with the Marange diamond fields. During the meeting, Izhakoff publicly called on the Zimbabwe attorney general to drop the still-pending charges against Mr. Maguwu, and this eventually happened in October. In book he later contributed to about the period, Maguwu credited Izhakoff for helping obtain his release from custody and convincing the Zimbabwe authorities to drop the charges against him. [13]
When he stepped down as WDC President in 2013, he was elected Honorary Life President of the organization. [14]
In 2014, Izhakoff was invited to assist in the development of a major project in the Republic of Panama, the goal of which was to establish the first dedicated diamond, colored gemstone and jewelry trading center in Latin America. Called the World Jewelry Hub, it also is the headquarters of Latin America's first recognized diamond bourse, the World Jewelry & Diamond Hub, Panama. [15]
Izhakoff holds the titles of Honorary Chairman of the Diamond Industry Steering Committee, New York, USA; Honorary President of the Diamond Dealers Club, New York, USA; and Honorary Chairman of the Bangkok Diamonds and Precious Stones Exchange, Bangkok, Thailand. [8] [16] [17]
At the CIBJO Congress in Vancouver, Canada, in 2006, Izhakoff was named an Honorary Life President of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation. [18]
He has received the Officer of the Order of Leopold from the King of Belgium, [19] the Rapaport Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, [20] the Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary Award, [21] the New York Diamond Industry Lifetime Achievement Award, Diamantaire of the Year from the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the Medal of Honor from the Israel Diamond Institute, [22] a special award from the Israel Diamond Exchange, the Andrea Palladio International Jewellery Award for Corporate and Social Responsibility, [23] and special honors from the president of the Republic of Sakha, the government of Thailand, the government of South Africa [24] [25] and the Dubai Multi Commodities Center. [26] [27]
Blood diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, terrorism, or a warlord's activity. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Diamonds mined during the 20th–21st century civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau have been given the label. The term conflict resource refers to analogous situations involving other natural resources. Blood diamonds can also be smuggled by organized crime syndicates so that they could be sold on the black market.
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report. The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments".
The World Diamond Council is an organization representing the entire diamond value chain including representatives from diamond mining, manufacturing, trading and retail. The council was established in July 2000. The purpose was to create a system to keep the supply chain of diamonds as free as possible from conflict diamonds.
CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, (in French Confédération Internationale de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie, Orfèvrerie des Diamants, Perles et Pierres) (CIBJO), has its headquarters in Bern, Switzerland. It represents the interests of all involved in jewellery, gemstones and precious metals, from mine to marketplace.
Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washington, D.C.
The Diamond industry of Israel is an important world player in producing cut diamonds for wholesale. In 2010, Israel became the chair of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. As of 2016, cut diamonds constituted 23.2% of Israel's total exports and they were the country's biggest export product, amounting to 12% of the world's production.
The World Diamond Congress is a bi-annual industry event organized by World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association. The first World Diamond Congress was held in Antwerpen, Belgium in 1947. It was held annually till 1956 and since then - every two years. Every year in between the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association hold their Presidents' Meeting. Last 36th Congress was held in 2014 in Antwerpen, Belgium. Next, 37th Congress will take place in Dubai in May 2016.
The World Federation of Diamond Bourses, founded in 1947, was created to provide bourses trading in rough and polished diamonds and precious stones with a common set of trading practices. It is composed of 30 member diamond bourses. Their headquarters are in Antwerp. Members of The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) act as a medium for wholesale diamond exchange, trading both polished and rough diamonds. The WFDB consists of independent diamond bourses in major centers of the diamond trade such as Tel Aviv, Antwerp, Mumbai, Johannesburg, London and New York and other cities across the USA, Europe and Asia. The WFDB provides a legal framework and convenes to enact regulations for its members. The following is a list of the 30 bourses.
Lazare Kaplan International Inc. (LKI) is a diamond manufacturing and distribution company based in New York City. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is Maurice Tempelsman. The first LKI was located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, at el Barrio de los Diamantes, a community named after the factory was located there. LKI was founded in 1903 where it operated until it was moved to Caguas, Puerto Rico in the 1970s.
The Marange diamond fields are an area of widespread small-scale diamond production in Chiadzwa, Mutare District, Zimbabwe. 'Although estimates of the reserves contained in this area vary wildly, some have suggested that it could be home to one of the world's richest diamond deposits'. The hugely prolific fields are regarded by some experts as the world's biggest diamond find in more than a century. Production from Marange is controversial due to ongoing legal wrangles and government crackdowns on illegal miners and allegations of forced labour. In terms of carats produced, the Marange field is the largest diamond-producing project in the world, estimated to have produced 16.9 million carats in 2013, or 13% of global rough diamond supply. Marange is estimated to have produced 12 million carats in 2012, 8.7 million carats in 2011, and 8.2 million carats in 2010. While some diamond mines produce rough valued at over $1000 per carat, average production at Marange is estimated at under $50 per carat.
Eli Avidar is a former Israeli politician who founded the Israel Free political party in 2022. Prior to this, he was a member of the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu and served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office from 2021 to 2022.
Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter (Diamantkwartier), and dubbed the Square Mile, is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. While as of 2012, much of the gem cutting and polishing work historically done in the neighborhood had moved to low wage centers elsewhere, about 84% of the world's rough diamonds passed through the district, making it the largest diamond district in the world with a turnover of 54 billion dollars. Each year, approximately 50% of the rough diamonds return to Antwerp for cutting and polishing.
Moshe Schnitzer was a Romanian Jewish immigrant to Israel who became a key player in the international diamond trade. From 1967 to 1993 he was President of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE), which became the world's largest diamond exchange.
Shmuel Schnitzer, Atty. is an Israeli diamond trader and chairman of S. Schnitzer Diamonds Ltd. Schnitzer served as president of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) from 1998 to 2004 and from 2013 to 2015, and after serving in this position, he was awarded the title of Lifelong Honorary President of the Israel Diamond Exchange. Shmuel Schnitzer was president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) from 2002 to 2006, and after his resignation, he was awarded the title of Honorary Life President of the WFDB. In addition, Shmuel Schnitzer holds a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) and is honorary president of the Israel Precious Stones & Diamonds Exchange.
IMPACT, formerly known as Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) until October 2017, is a non-governmental organization which attempts to control the sourcing of minerals in regions of conflict and campaign against "blood diamonds".
Leibish & Company is a multinational, family-owned online diamond dealer and jewelry retailer, specializing in fancy color diamonds and rare gemstones. Founded in 1979 as a diamond broker, the company operates out of the Israel Diamond Exchange and has marketed exclusively through an online portal since 1995. Leibish & Co. purveys both privately owned diamond collections and its own line of custom-designed fine jewelry.
Israel Beck (1891–1972) was a founding member of the Antwerpsche Diamantkring, the world's largest and first-ever diamond bourse to be dedicated to rough diamonds trade. He was President of the Board from 1961 until his death in 1972. By that time, he had served benevolently 43 years as a member of the Board, promoting diamond trade internationally and the Antwerp diamond industry in particular, and representing the Antwerpsche Diamantkring at the World Diamond Congress.
Gemological Science International, or GSI, is an independent gemological organization that is one of the largest gemological entities in the world, with offices in four continents.
Henry Ho is a jeweler in Thailand and President of the Bangkok Diamond & Precious Stones Exchange.
Yitzhak Arie (Leo) Schachter was a prominent Israeli diamantaire and the founder and owner of Leo Schachter Diamonds. Schachter was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924. A second generation dimantaire, Schachter started his diamond polishing business at the age of 18. He was inspired by his father Max who learnt the art of diamond cutting in Belgium.
