RI diamond potential yet to be tapped<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Say the word diamond and dazzling images of
\nshimmering, glamorous gems will come to mind.<\/p>\n
Diamonds have been symbols of beauty, power and privilege
\nsince the precious gem was discovered thousands of years ago.
\nFor centuries, kings, queens, maharajahs, shahs and sultans put
\ntheir lives and empires at stake to possess the biggest and the
\nbest diamonds.<\/p>\n
In addition to its beauty, the diamond was believed to possess
\nhealing powers. Ancient people owned diamonds for luck and
\nsecurity reasons. Diamonds were said to cure insanity and
\nimpotence while protecting against the effect of various
\ndangerous plagues and poisons.<\/p>\n
Diamonds were recognized in Indonesia as early as the 14th and
\n15th centuries. Diamonds and other gemstones were found in royal
\njewelry, household appliances and traditional weapons such as
\nkris and spears.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has diamond deposits in small-scale mines in
\nMartapura, South Kalimantan. But compared to other Asian
\ncountries such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan,
\ndiamond production and trade in Indonesia are still
\ninsignificant. Japan, which has no diamond tradition, has bought
\nUS$2.1 billion worth of diamonds annually since l990.<\/p>\n
According to Anthony Oppenheimer, president and executive
\ndirector of the Central Selling Organization, which controls
\ninternational diamond markets and supplies, it will take a long
\ntime for Indonesia to build a major diamond industry.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has abundant mining resources such as gold, tin, oil
\nand coal. But, the country's diamond deposits are still very
\nsmall compared to other diamond producing countries such as South
\nAfrica, Zaire, Botswana, Australia and India, Oppenheimer said
\nduring his initial visit to Indonesia early this month.<\/p>\n
\"Diamond exploration and processing require high investment.
\nIndonesia's gold exploration projects have drawn a lot of
\nattention from a number of potential investors but the country's
\ndiamond is still out of their consideration,\" said Oppenheimer,
\nwho is also a director of De Beers Consolidated Diamonds, the
\nworld's largest diamond mining company.<\/p>\n
However, Oppenheimer believes that Indonesia has prospects in
\nthe diamond trade, particularly in the retail and jewelry
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
After visiting a number of jewelry shops in Jakarta's downtown
\narea, Oppenheimer said he was impressed by the development of the
\njewelry business in the city. \"It is not yet a major market but
\nin the next few decades, I assume that Indonesia, along with
\nChina, will become an important market in Asia.\"<\/p>\n
Johnny Salmon, chairman of the Indonesian Goldsmiths and
\nJewelers Association, shared Oppenheimer's opinion, saying that
\nthe jewelry business in Indonesia is still in its infancy stage.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is now entering a transitional period from
\nproduction to marketing era. We are still working hard to push
\nthe local jewelry business before joining a competitive world
\nmarket,\" Salmon added.<\/p>\n
He admitted that it was very difficult to determine the
\nprecise figure of diamond jewelry sales in Indonesia, compared to
\ngold jewelry consumption, which reached 119 tons a year.
\nIndonesia's jewelry exports amounted to $300 million last year.<\/p>\n
Salmon said the local jewelry business is closely linked to
\nthe country's economic progress. As buying power gets stronger,
\npeople will think less about basic needs such as food and
\nhousing, and start buying secondary items such as luxury cars,
\nclothing and jewelry.<\/p>\n
Oppenheimer also agreed that the growth of the jewelry
\nbusiness in many Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan,
\nIndia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia, is in line with the
\ncountries' economic progress.<\/p>\n
In East Asia, except for Taiwan, retail sales grew very fast
\nwith South Korea leading the market. Southeast Asia was
\nresponsible most for the diamond market growth in the 1980s and
\nl990s.<\/p>\n
\"The growth of the retail business is in line with the
\nincreasing demand of high-quality and fashionable diamond
\njewelry,\" he said.<\/p>\n
People buy gold jewelry for fashion and investment, but they
\nbuy diamonds because they are attracted to the beauty of the
\nstones, he said.<\/p>\n
He said diamonds sold here are mostly in the form of jewelry.
\nThe gems come from local diamond mines in Martapura, South
\nKalimantan, and are imported from various countries.<\/p>\n
Indonesian people, he said, have a tradition of possessing
\ndiamonds and other gemstones as family treasures. The jewelry is
\noften passed from one to the other. Indonesian noble families,
\nfor example, owned priceless diamond jewelry collections. Common
\npeople also possessed lower quality diamonds.<\/p>\n
\"Many of the old collections belonging to these families were
\nredesigned and sold at the local market,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Nanny Budiman, head of De Beers's Diamond Information Center
\n(DIC) in Jakarta, said that in the past, people bought diamonds
\nthrough vendors. \"These vendors determined the price and quality
\nas well as designs of diamond jewelry. Buyers did not have any
\nchoice but to accept almost all offered items,\" she explained.<\/p>\n
Since a few years ago, the DIC has been launching intensive
\ncampaigns to inform both sellers and buyers on the quality of
\ndiamonds. These activities have been part of De Beers's
\ninternational campaign programs.<\/p>\n
Every year, De Beers spends about $200 million in promotional
\nand social campaigns worldwide. About 19 percent of the amount is
\nspent in Asia.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesian consumers should be well-informed so that they
\nhave a strong bargaining position when buying diamonds because
\nthey are precious stones,\" said Nanny.<\/p>",
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