The ADTF News

Diamond Office

Anyone who buys diamonds in Antwerp at some point will come into contact with the Diamond Office, or at least become aware of its existence and role. The Diamond Office is the department operated by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) that, in full coordination with governmental authorities, supervises Belgian diamond imports and exports. The Diamond Office assists members of the diamond trade in fulfilling all the legal requirements involved in the import and exports of diamonds, including licensing procedures. It also oversees and coordinates security measures related to the import and export of diamonds.

It must be noted that Belgium's import and export control system, as executed by the Diamond Office, has served as a model for similar agencies around the world. As a result of its efforts, the Belgian government and the AWDC have been recognised on numerous occasions by the United Nations, other countries and NGOs for their efforts in their struggle to end the trade in conflict diamonds.

All loose diamonds imported into Belgium or exported from the country must be submitted to the Diamond Office which then corroborates the classification, quantities and qualities of the diamonds submitted, and verifies that its findings correspond with those listed on the accompanying documents. By centralising the operation of various government departments, the Diamond Office has succeeded in reducing the cost and time of importing and exporting loose diamonds.

However, the Diamond Office is not involved in the shipping of diamonds to or from Antwerp. Shipping arrangements are made by the members of the diamond trade themselves, mostly through the forwarding companies that operate in the branch, such as Malca Amit, Brinks' and others, some of whom are also sponsors of the third edition of the Antwerp Diamond Trade Fair.

The forwarders, in turn, all have at their disposal a proprietary, well-developed network that enables them to ship gems and jewellery around the world with extremely fast turnaround times. A buyer who submits his diamonds for shipping at a forwarder's office will most often be told that he will have them on his desk on the other side of the world within 24 hours, without delay, or bureaucratic problems.