IsDMA at 60: it all began with a group of 21 diamantaires coming together to register with the...

Although the diamond industry is in some ways timeless, the stark contrast between times past and present was summed up by Moti Ganz, president of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IsDMA) in his speech at the celebratory event to mark the organization's 60th anniversary. Looking back to the mid-1940s, when IsDMA was established, before the modern state of Israel had even been created, Ganz pointed out that the fledgling industry's exports were $16 million.

Today, 60 years on, polished exports are more than $6 billion, and if you add in rough diamond exports