Yair Sahar, President of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) and Alex Popov, President of Moscow Diamond Bourse (MDB), have agreed that MDB will organize a delegation of diamond buyers from Russia and CIS countries to take part in the August 26-29 US & International Diamond Week. The two exchange leaders resolved to work closely together toward this goal during their talks held during the recent CIBJO Congress in Tel Aviv.
"Last March, a small delegation of MDB members participated in US & International Diamond Week (IDWI) at the Israel Diamond Exchange, and the participating buyers returned home with very positive reports," Popov said.
IDE President Sahar said he looked forward to welcoming a buyers' group headed by Popov. "The MDB president is extremely well introduced in the market of the Russian Federation and the CIS countries and I am sure that he will bring a top quality delegation here," Sahar said. "From our end, we will make every effort to make this trip a worthwhile experience for these buyers," he noted.
"The luxury market in Russia and the Russian Federation has great potential, especially because economic growth is now spreading beyond the largest cities in this huge geographical region. This means that there is a steady increase in the public's purchasing power, also for luxury goods, including diamond jewelry," Popov noted. "It is often forgotten that historically, Russia has a strong and deeply rooted appetite for jewelry. While in the large cities, the Western luxury brands have been doing very well, there is also a noted return to Russian-made designer jewelry. In other words, there is a lot of potential that can be turned into sales," the MDB president concluded.
