The 2019 Bharat Diamond Week (BDW) will be held from October 14 to 16, the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), organisers of the event announced in Mumbai, India. The show has been planned to take place just ahead of the Diwali festival.

“The BDB aims to build on the huge success of the two Bharat Diamond Week events held in 2018,” the organisation stated in a press release. “The second edition of 2018 saw more than 1,000 visitors from India and across the world who did business with 125 Indian exhibitors of polished diamonds.”

Bharat Diamond Bourse Vice-President Mehul Shah, who heads the Bharat Diamond Week organising committee, said: “We are looking forward to the launch of 2019 edition of the Bharat Diamond Week, from 14 to 16 October. The timing of the show has been selected just ahead of Diwali time which presents a perfect opportunity for visitors to secure excellent deals. Buyers from across the globe, as well as within India, are invited to take part in the BDW, with members of bourses affiliated to the WFDB always receiving priority. As with previous events, selected buyers will be allotted complimentary hotel accommodation.”

Shah added: "This is an inter-bourse show which proved to be a highly successful concept last year. We are building on those first two shows to take it to the next level with higher numbers of exhibitors and many more buyers expected. As with the 2018 shows, we want to create maximum coverage for our small and medium-sized companies. Above all, the Guest of Honour at BDW 2019 will be Lin Qiang, the Vice President of WFDB and President of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), who will bring members of the SDE with him. We are looking forward to expanding ties with the SDE."

BDB President Anoop Mehta commented: "The inaugural shows, and the high level of demand from visitors and exhibitors alike, proved that it was imperative that we stage a show in 2019. The exhibitors will again be treated to typical warm and welcoming Indian hospitality. And we will present them with our diamond companies who can supply them with absolutely any diamond they need in any shape, size or colour.”

Mehta said that each Indian company that wins the right to display at the Bharat Diamond Week is entitled to one booth only. He stressed that trading of synthetic or lab-grown diamonds is banned in the BDB, therefore there will not be any such diamonds at BDW.  

Mehta added: “These inter-bourse events have proven their value at other diamond exchanges, and it is only right that India, as the world’s primary cutting and polishing centre, should hold a fair to showcase the diamonds that we have available for sale. The BDW puts buyers directly in touch with suppliers in a convenient setting, saving time and expenses as the exhibitors and their goods can be easily and quickly found, thus making the fair an efficient visit. We advise the global industry to save the date and look out for further announcements in the coming weeks."

Pic Cap: Lin Qiang, President of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, who will be the Guest of Honour at the 2019 Bharat Diamond Week