The company had previously advertised online seeking US$8 million ($7.7 million) in venture capital funding. One advertisement stated, “There are no diamond processing plants in Australia. Ausdex will start a new industry here by starting a diamond processing plant.”
Another advertisement read, “Ausdex Diamonds is positioned to become Australia’s first diamond manufacturer.”
Ausdex Diamonds should not be confused with a similarly named business, Ausdex Australian Diamond Exchange that was closed last December after its owner, Francine Gumina, declared bankruptcy. The website for Ausdex Australian Diamond Exchange, www.ausdiamondex.com.au, was taken down in late January this year after Jeweller reported that the website was still operational even though the business had closed.
Although Gumina is the sister of Ausdex Diamonds director Sandro Catalini, he advises there was no connection between his company or the website Ausdexdiamonds.com.au, and the similarly named but now defunct Ausdiamondex.com.au.
Catalini’s new website declares, “Ausdex Diamonds is positioned to become Australia's first diamond manufacturer servicing the growing retail and wholesale markets.”
It lists two other board members, Navin Naidoo and Stewart Ebbott, and in seeking investors for the new venture the website states; “Investor information is available to sophisticated, professional and international investor.(sic) As Ausdex Diamonds is an Australian private company, you will have to contact us directly for investor information.”
Infinite Capital corporate advisor Brett Dickinson is handling the investment opportunity. The firm’s website claims that it’s “the best connected corporate advisory firm in Australia” and provides “essential business solutions to companies that helps them grow faster, more successfully”.
Previous online advertisements placed by Ausdex Diamonds last year declared, “A robust financial model for Ausdex has been completed by Pitcher Partners, a top-tier accounting and consulting firm. Ausdex Diamonds is projected to have gross revenue of $17.2m by Year 3 of operation,” but a spokesman for Pitcher Partners denied making any financial projection.
Matthew Pringle, a partner at Pitcher Partners, told Jeweller in January – after the collapse of Ausdex Australian Diamond Exchange – that Pitcher Partners no longer acted for Ausdex, adding, “All we did on their [Ausdex Diamond’s] instructions is build a financial model. We haven’t verified the accuracy or integrity of the model at all. All the underlying assumptions and data is theirs.”
Pringle said all attempts to contact Sandro Catalini had failed. “We sent a letter asking them to cease the ad,” Pringle said. The advertisement no longer appears online. (See image gallery.)
Under a heading ‘Membership and Affiliations’, Ausdexdiamonds.com.au lists a number of organisations including two that seem unconnected to the jewellery industry; Go4world Business and ADTEC Pty Ltd.
The list also includes the New York Diamond Dealers Club, Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), and the Israeli Diamond Portal. The RJC logo appears prominently on every page of the Ausdex Diamonds’ website and Jeweller confirmed that the company joined in April this year.
However, according to the Israel Diamond Portal, it has no affiliation with Ausdex Diamonds.
Israelidiamond.co.il describes itself as “the meeting place of the Israeli Diamond Industry” and a spokesperson for Israel Diamond Portal said, “Membership of the Israel Diamond Portal is open to any person that wishes to register on the website and merely provides access to registration-only sections of our website, such as receiving our newsletters etc.”
The spokesperson explained that IDP does not accept company membership. “It might well be true that someone at Ausdex is a 'member' of the Israeli Diamond Portal, though companies themselves cannot be members,” the spokesperson said.
“We cannot control and have no responsibility over what other [third] parties claim, though we will be contacting Ausdex to request that they remove their reference to the portal,” she added.