Not too long after Chaim Even-Zohar, the diamond industry’s leading analyst, announced his retirement comes the news that The Tacy Diamond Pipeline – one of his best known formulations on industry size and figures published annually – will henceforth be published by Pharos Beam Consulting LLP in India.

Tacy’s Diamond Pipeline, which has provided an independent and unbiased view of the diamond pipeline since 1989 and serves as a guidepost and benchmark of industry value addition, “pioneered the concept of counting every diamond only once and hence avoiding inflated turnover numbers”, a joint press release noted.

The Diamond Pipeline is extremely popular and has been used by various industry researchers for analysing industry performance across the years, establishing value addition and midstream performance and profitability. “It has also served as the base for research reports put out by reputed consulting companies and has been used as evidence in arbitration and court proceedings,” the statement said.

Though, till most recently, the Tacy Pipeline was published by Chaim Even Zohar through the Diamond Intelligence Briefs and other media, Pranay Narvekar, of Pharos Beam Consulting LLP in India, has been involved in developing the pipeline with Tacy since 2009.

“To assure that the Tacy Pipeline will go from strength to strength throughout generations, Pharos Beam has worked closely with Tacy in preparing several previous editions of the Pipeline,” the statement said. “It was announced today that the forthcoming 2017 Pipeline will be published by Pharos Beam, adhering to the proven methodology, and ensuring that the diamond industry can continue to use the pipeline consistently, as in the past.”

Narvekar of Pharos Beam commented, "The Tacy Pipeline is the starting point for any industry analysis and provides consistent and unbiased data for analysis without turnover based distortions. It is indeed a great privilege that we would be able to carry forward the Pipeline and our association in its development in the past gives us the confidence that we would be able to continue to provide this service to the industry in the same consistent manner."

"I have always been fascinated by the fact that a relatively modest $15 billion raw material source, can generate some $150 billion internal country and/or between trading centre turnovers generating employment for a few million people,” reflected Even-Zohar.  “The total midstream (diamond manufacturing and trading) added value may at best come to US$ 6 billion, before the downstream (jewellery manufacturing and retail) adds its added value. Looking just at the employment factor, one can never doubt that the social and welfare contribution of diamonds are a source of 'good' in a society that measures value not just in money terms, but rather how society benefits from it. It is really befitting the pipeline that it gets its new 'home' in India, the world's largest diamond manufacturing and trading centre."

Pic Cap: Chaim Even-Zohar (left) and Pranay Narvekar