Some 30 Belgian diamond companies will be on display this year in the large Antwerp Diamond Pavilion, which will occupy a stretch of prime real estate in the Diamond Plaza on the second level at the 2008 JCK-Las Vegas Show. Other members of the Belgian contingent will be exhibiting elsewhere in the Sands Expo and Convention Center, the site of the United States’ premier jewellery show, which opens on May 30 and closes June 30.

The Antwerp Diamond Pavilion at the JCK-Las Vegas Show is organised by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) with the support of Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT).

“While the United States is in the midst of an economic downturn at present, this does not undermine its importance as the world’s most important diamond market,” said Freddy J. Hanard, CEO of the AWDC. “While the U.S. share of Antwerp’s polished diamond exports dipped somewhat during the first quarter of this year, this was due to a rate at which overall polished exports increased. Indeed, exports of polished diamonds to the United States during the first quarter of the year actually rose to $795.6 million, from $755.0 million during the first quarter of 2007.

The AWDC will use the 2008 JCK-Las Vegas Show to promote the 2009 edition of the HRD Awards, the international diamond jewellery design competition it organises every two years. The theme of the competition this time will be “Once upon a time… my favourite fairy tale.”

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) is the official representative of the Belgian diamond sector, and in this capacity is charged with managing the relationship between the diamond sector and government, and promoting the interests of the Belgian diamond industry worldwide.