In a statement, WFDB president Yoram Dvash said that the NDC had a valuable role to play in improving consumer confidence in the diamond industry.
“Today’s consumers have more choices than ever before and are heavily influenced by social media and digital platforms,” he said.
“It is crucial to present the natural diamond industry in a creative and authentic way. We believe that the NDC is successfully doing just that, and we want to support this very important work.”
NDC CEO David Kellie added: “Collectively, we see considerable expansion opportunities ahead, and we will redouble efforts to inspire and move consumers.”
The NDC recently released a ‘myth-busting’ report addressing consumer misconceptions about the diamond trade and announced a partnership with Antwerp’s Diamantkring.
Disapproval over Heidi Horten auction
In further developments, the WFDB president has also publicised his organisation’s objections to the auctioning of Heidi Horten’s jewellery collection at Christie’s.
In a letter, the Dvash said that Horten’s husband Helmut Horten became wealthy “by buying businesses at a fraction of their worth from Jews who were forced to sell to Aryans.”
“I would like to express the WFDB’s objection to this sale, so clearly associated with Nazi plunder of Jewish businesses. In a time of Holocaust denial and the resurgence of anti-Semitism around the world, we find it especially appalling that a world-renowned auction house would engage in such a sale.”
‘The World of Heidi Horten’ auction is expected to return $US150 million ($AU224.8 million).
According to reporting by Rapaport News, representatives from Christie’s responded to the criticism by confirming that a thorough verification process has been applied to each item that will appear.
“His activities were well documented and provided the foundation for his later wealth,” said Christie’s regional president Anthea Peers.
“However — and without ignoring or excusing Mr. Horten’s actions in any way — the jewellery collection of his wife, Heidi Horten, was assembled decades later, between the beginning of the 1970s and 2022.”
Proceeds will benefit the Heidi Horten Collection, a museum of art based in Vienna, as well as medical research.
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