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By Russell Shor
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The busy trading floor of the Israel Diamond Exchange unites the four major diamond industry office towers in Ramat Gan.
Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik
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GIA's November diamond grading class in Israel was, in one sense, a homecoming. More than 30 years ago, Glenn Nord, who was president of GIA from 1983-1986, journeyed there to offer similar classes.
Then, as now, there is a strong demand for gemological education in Israel because many young people are interested in entering the business and exploring the options available to them, said Eli Avidar, Israel Diamond Institute (IDI) group managing director. "There are many fields in the industry – it's no longer just cutting and dealing diamonds," he said. "There is a great deal of technological knowledge, business, finance and marketing, so the needs and opportunities are much greater."
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Avi Paz, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange, says diamond education is mandatory for admission to the Exchange.
Photo by Russell Shor
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The industry's largest organization is the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) with some 2,700 members and 250 to 300 on the pending list, noted Avi Paz, its president. The majority of pending members are young and committed to their chosen profession.
"But one cannot just 'decide' to go into the diamond business," Paz said, explaining that the rigorous admission process of the exchange ensures their commitment. "There's mandatory diamond education [learning the basic nature of diamonds], extensive background checks and a polygraph exam. So, the applicant spends some $20,000 before he or she even sees a diamond."
Israel's huge diamond industry was just beginning to take off back in 1970, when Nord first journeyed there to teach diamond and colored stone classes.
"That first year I ran three classes each day – two diamond grading, one colored stone identification – from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.," Nord recalled. "That went for six weeks. I can't tell you how tired I was after I got back to the hotel, which kept dinner ready especially for me."
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Diamond traders seal a deal in the Diamond Exchange, from which more than $7 billion worth of polished diamonds were exported around the world in 2007.
Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik
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Nord returned for three successive years, keeping the same grueling schedule. "The students were very astute," he said. "They were most interested in improving make and yield and when I began teaching them sight estimation (of cut quality) techniques, they didn't hesitate to ask me to prove everything I was telling them."
Industry veterans recall how GIA's VIP extension classes of the 1970s helped set the foundation for the growth of the IDI, the umbrella organization for the country's diamond industry that today encompasses the IDE, Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association (IsDMA), trade unions and banks. It also serves as a facilitator to resolve issues between these groups and conducts gemological services, research, training and marketing on behalf of members.
And today's Israeli diamond industry leaders praised the professionalism of GIA instructors Ric Taylor and James Morse, who conducted the week-long lab from Nov. 25-29, and said they hoped it would be the first step in reconnecting GIA to the country's thriving diamond trade, which exported nearly $6 billion in polished stones during 2007.
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A technician checks a diamond processed by an automated polishing machine in a large Israeli diamond manufacturing plant.
Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik
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The classes were full, Taylor said. "Everyone was extremely enthusiastic and worked very hard and did very well."
Running the classes required some out-of-the-ordinary flexibility, he said, because many of the students were diamond dealers who needed to respond immediately to stone calls. "We understood they needed to do business and allowed for that. We kept our time flexible."
A number of the students taking the recent class came from Israel's diamond manufacturing sector.
Udi Sheintal, managing director of the IsDMA, noted that the number of workers cutting diamonds in the country has stabilized at about 3,000. During the past two decades, Israel saw much of its manufacturing – particularly small goods – go to lower wage countries, but the area around Ramat Gan remains a major force in cutting caraters and larger fancies.
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Elianora Heilper-Feder, a 1978 GIA G.G. who studied in Santa Monica, was one of
a number of GIA graduates who helped widen the gemological skill base of Israel’s industry.
Photo by Russell Shor
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Israel was able to keep this type of cutting within its borders because most of the high-tech innovations in diamond manufacturing were developed there and allowed them to stay competitive. Sarin and OGI scanning machines, for example, can measure polished diamonds quickly (eliminating need for leverage gauges) and plan rough diamonds so cutters get the most yield and best prices from rough, which is absolutely crucial when the difference between profit and loss can be a few hundredths of a carat or degrees in proportion angle. Other Israeli innovations include economic laser sawing and bruting that can fashion diamonds into any shape, regardless of the grain.
Some of these innovations came from IDI's research center, which is still working to find new ways to improve speed, yield and quality of cut.
"It's still a never-ending process," Sheintal said.
After the IDI was formed in 1977, it looked to GIA to provide the foundation of knowledge it needed to serve the industry. In addition to the VIP diamond extension classes GIA taught in Israel, it dispatched some 250 employees to GIA Santa Monica over the following several years to take the full G.G. curriculum.
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Gil Barnea, a 2003 New York G.G. grad, uses his GIA-learned skills at the Israel Diamond Institute.
Photo by Russell Shor
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One of those original students, Elianora Heilper-Feder, is still working at IDI, though she worked with a number of other diamond companies in the intervening years. She took classes with Shane McClure and Bill Boyajian during the six months she attended GIA. Upon her return to Israel, she worked for the IDI as instructor of colored stones and diamonds, but was hired by a diamond manufacturer who wanted to use her diamond evaluation skills as a diamond buyer.
"I suddenly realized what a huge responsibility I had because, with expensive stones, you are alone in making a decision that could cost many thousands of dollars if you are the slightest bit off in the grade. My GIA education is why they entrusted this responsibility to me."
More recently, as the IDI embarked on a major expansion, she returned "home" to train newly-hired employees and advise diamond manufacturers. "There's a great demand for re-cutting [to improve cut grades] so polishers are always coming to us for advice. I am glad I can help them," she said.
"I can honestly say that I have used my GIA education every working day since I completed my studies in 1978."
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Yarushami Diamonds in Ramat Gan uses high-tech automated polishing machines to offset competition from lower-wage countries.
Photo by Russell Shor
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Eli Dori, another of the original1978 GIA grads, opened his own diamond training school right after returning with his G.G. and has continued teaching ever since.
"There is a definite need for education here because the Israel Diamond Exchange requires all members to take courses in diamonds," he said.
Dori's school, the Center for Gemmological Studies, is located in the Shimshon Building in the Diamond Complex in Ramat Gan. He said most of his students are workers from the four buildings within that complex who want to further their knowledge of diamonds, or become certified to join the IDE.
Dori quite often runs day and night classes or varies the days and hours to accommodate the workers' schedules.
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Large diamonds still require specialized work. Gerry Rubens and David DaLevi (standing) of Belami Diamonds’ cutting shop in Ramat Gan which produces goods over three carats.
Photo by Russell Shor
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GIA will continue to bring courses tailored to today's Israeli diamond industry, where it is necessary to understand business, marketing and sales to remain competitive.
Gil Barnea, a diamond grader in IDI's diamond laboratory, finished his G.G. in New York in 2003 and said that going to GIA was the key to his successful career change from the banking industry.
"I'd gone back to college in Monsey, New York, when a professor suggested I look into the diamond business," said Barnea, who was born in Germany. "This is what led me to GIA."
Barnea interned at Tiffany & Co. during his GIA studies, then was obliged to return to his family home in Germany for several years. But when he was ready to join the industry, his GIA education offered quick entrée.
"I immigrated to Israel in the spring of 2007 and found a job immediately, so I'll always be grateful to GIA for that."
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