The Panama Diamond Exchange, Latin America's first diamond bourse, will now be known as the ‘World Jewelry & Diamond Hub, Panama’, the organisation said in a release today. The name change was also approved at the General Assembly of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, during the 37th World Diamond Congress in Dubai, May 16-19.

Explaining the reasons that prompted the change, Mahesh Khemlani, President of the Bourse said, “While the trade in diamonds is a principal component of the activity at our bourse, it is certainly not the only one." He said that a large number of the organisation’s members deal in jewellery, while there is also a very active trade in emeralds and other colored gemstones.

“We felt it was imperative that our name be reflective of the composition of our membership, and 'jewelry,' which is the sector of which we are all part, was added," Khemlani added.

The new name will also help to clear any possible confusion, he said, pointing out that the bourse is the anchor organisation of the World Jewelry Hub, which is the only trading centre in Latin America dedicated to the diamond, colored gemstones and jewellery trades.

"As our status as the industry's primary entry point and trading center in the region grows, we were keen to ensure that there be no confusion that the WJH and the bourse are inexorably linked," Khemlani concluded.

The first major programme after the change of name is the  Second Latin American Diamond and Jewelry Week which will take place from June 20-23, 2016.

Pic caption: Mahesh Khemlani addressing the 37th World Diamond Congress