Following an initial Nationwide safari to Botswana and South Africa in October last year, which saw 19 Nationwide members become the first retailers in the world to visit the Jwaneng diamond mine, the buying group will take a second contingent of members to learn more about where the diamonds they sell in their stores come from.
The announcement was made to members last week at the JAA International Jewellery Fair Scheduled for March 2013, the second Diamond Safari will once again visit the Diamond Trading Company’s rough sorting facility in Gaborone, Botswana, as well as the Hearts & Arrows cutting Factory, which produces the diamonds used for Tolkowsky jewellery.
The trip will include a visit to a South African game park, with members being accommodated in luxury, thatched huts.
The Diamond Safari is an optional add-on to the buying group’s Antwerp trip scheduled for March, however Nationwide managing director Colin Pocklington believes, based on the level of interest shown in Sydney, the trip will be fully booked very quickly.
“We can take a maximum of 24 people,” Pocklington said. “A larger group would be difficult to take into the Diamond Trading Company facility, and to the Hearts & Arrows cutting factory. They give us a guided tour.”
Pocklington said the tour of the diamond facilities would last around three days, with those lucky enough to attend being able to get a unique insight into the mining process.
“The diamond mine is an amazing sight,” Pocklington said. “With improved technology, they are now able to recover a few billion dollars more in diamonds from their previously discarded rubble. The other interesting thing is the security is as strong as Fort Knox. If you drop anything, you are not allowed to pick it up until security arrives.”
“No other retailers in the world have ever visited this mine,” Pocklington continued. “Likewise for the DTC factory. The Hearts & Arrows factory is absolutely state of the art, and is in a specially designed building that fits in with the local building style. To be able to follow the diamond trail from the mine, to the DTC rough sorting facility and then to the Hearts & Arrows cutting factory is a great experience. The group then travels to Antwerp to buy diamonds from sight holders.
“The story of the trip provides a great PR opportunity in their local area. Some members have had a one or two page spread in their local paper with photos of the at the mine and in the factories,” Pocklington said.