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Get Diamonds Is JA’s Newest Member Benefit Partner
Get Diamonds is the new online trading platform launched in the wake of the uproar surrounding RapNet earlier this spring.
Powered by Lucy Platforms, Get Diamonds is the new online diamond trading platform backed by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses.
New York—Get Diamonds, the new online diamond trading platform, is now a Jewelers of America Member Benefit Partner. 
The nonprofit trading platform’s tagline is “by the industry, for the industry,” and its formation arose from the furor surrounding Martin Rapaport’s decision to drop prices in mid-March, a time when, diamantaires said, trading worldwide was at a near standstill because of COVID-19.
Anger over the cut opened the floodgates on criticism of Rapaport and his widely watched benchmark price list, and planted the seeds of what Yoram Dvash, acting WFDB president, described as “a grassroots movement” to launch an independent new platform governed by a group of diamantaires.
Get Diamonds has a 12-member board of directors and is currently on the hunt for a CEO.
The trading platform will operate as a nonprofit, with any profits going toward generic advertising for diamonds worldwide.
Get Diamonds went live three months ago, and currently organizers say it lists 1.3 million stones worth more than $5.7 billion, making it slightly larger than RapNet in terms of stone count (1.1 million listings valued at $6.1 billion as of midnight July 3) and IDEX (about 1 million listings).
The site has 4,000 registered suppliers—all members in good standing with WFDB-affiliated bourses, Get Diamonds said—and 25,000 registered buyers.
With Get Diamonds becoming a JA Member Benefit Partner, JA members will get:
— VIP registration;
— A one-year subscription for $300 (regularly $425) when subscribed by Sept. 1, 2020;
— Eight months free with a one-year subscription;
— A one-year subscription for $340 after Sept. 1, 2020;
— A 15 percent discount on each additional user; and
— Discounts on shipping with the site’s authorized shipping companies.
“We are looking forward to providing our members access to the Get Diamonds platform. The platform is very comprehensive and enables our members to better serve their customers and compete in today’s challenging business environment,” Jewelers of America President and CEO David J. Bonaparte said in a press release announcing the partnership.
Click here to learn more about Get Diamonds as a JA member benefit, and read on for a full Q&A with Dvash.
NJ: What would you say are the advantages of Get Diamonds over other diamond trading platforms?
YD:
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It is important to understand the story behind Get Diamonds. This is a website that was established by the WFDB and by diamantaires from the four main trading centers: Antwerp, Mumbai, New York and Ramat Gan. They are part of a grassroots movement of diamantaires who want a different culture in the diamond industry, one of transparency and openness.
They want the industry to take control of its future and not to be led by outsiders who are acting for their own profit. The motto that was chosen, “By the industry, for the industry,” expresses this very well.
Get Diamonds has many advantages.
First of all, technologically it is very advanced, state-of-the-art, and it’s constantly upgrading. It is also less expensive than all others. Moreover, we are promoting cooperative agreements with diamond producers, gemological labs, shipping companies and more that will provide added value to bourse members, dealers, wholesalers and retailers around the world.
We are seeking a CEO for Get Diamonds and we are currently in negotiations with several leading personalities in the diamond and jewelry industries. I hope that we’ll be able to announce very soon the appointment of a professional CEO who will take Get Diamonds forward.
NJ: The press release on the JA Member Benefit program mentions that profits from Get Diamonds will be used for projects that benefit the global diamond and jewelry industries. Can you elaborate on which projects?
YD: Get Diamonds was established at the height of the pandemic and, despite this, within five weeks we reached a volume of over 1 million diamonds. This shows how hungry the global diamond industry was for change. This came from the field, from dozens of countries worldwide.
Individual diamantaires also have contributed financially to Get Diamonds and their contributions make up a large part of the Get Diamonds budget, in addition to funding from the WFDB. Much of the work in getting this project off the ground is being done by volunteers who are investing hours and hours of their time because they believe in Get Diamonds and see it as the most exciting initiative in the diamond industry for decades.
We are currently in the process of establishing a nonprofit entity to run Get Diamonds. Any profits generated will be used for generic advertising of diamonds, to the benefit of diamantaires worldwide.
NJ: Does the WFDB have any mediation/conflict resolution mechanism in place for the site, as it has for the members of its bourses (e.g., a buyer receives a stone they feel is lower quality than what was advertised, a buyer never receives the goods they paid for, etc.)?
YD: Yes, we do have an arbitration mechanism that will be used for this site. This is one of our most important advantages and I’m glad you asked about it.
Through our arbitration procedures we can ensure that conflicts and disputes between all site users—bourse members, retailers and others—will be solved quickly and at a very low cost.
They want the industry to take control of its future and not to be led by outsiders who are acting for their own profit. The motto that was chosen, “By the industry, for the industry,” expresses this very well.
Get Diamonds has many advantages.
First of all, technologically it is very advanced, state-of-the-art, and it’s constantly upgrading. It is also less expensive than all others. Moreover, we are promoting cooperative agreements with diamond producers, gemological labs, shipping companies and more that will provide added value to bourse members, dealers, wholesalers and retailers around the world.
We are seeking a CEO for Get Diamonds and we are currently in negotiations with several leading personalities in the diamond and jewelry industries. I hope that we’ll be able to announce very soon the appointment of a professional CEO who will take Get Diamonds forward.
NJ: The press release on the JA Member Benefit program mentions that profits from Get Diamonds will be used for projects that benefit the global diamond and jewelry industries. Can you elaborate on which projects?
YD: Get Diamonds was established at the height of the pandemic and, despite this, within five weeks we reached a volume of over 1 million diamonds. This shows how hungry the global diamond industry was for change. This came from the field, from dozens of countries worldwide.
Individual diamantaires also have contributed financially to Get Diamonds and their contributions make up a large part of the Get Diamonds budget, in addition to funding from the WFDB. Much of the work in getting this project off the ground is being done by volunteers who are investing hours and hours of their time because they believe in Get Diamonds and see it as the most exciting initiative in the diamond industry for decades.
We are currently in the process of establishing a nonprofit entity to run Get Diamonds. Any profits generated will be used for generic advertising of diamonds, to the benefit of diamantaires worldwide.
NJ: Does the WFDB have any mediation/conflict resolution mechanism in place for the site, as it has for the members of its bourses (e.g., a buyer receives a stone they feel is lower quality than what was advertised, a buyer never receives the goods they paid for, etc.)?
YD: Yes, we do have an arbitration mechanism that will be used for this site. This is one of our most important advantages and I’m glad you asked about it.
Through our arbitration procedures we can ensure that conflicts and disputes between all site users—bourse members, retailers and others—will be solved quickly and at a very low cost.
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