The Diamond Industry

The diamond industry is one of the most important industries in Israel and in the world. Israel is one of the founders of the Kimberley Process, an international diamond trading forum that outlines the diamond certification process. The forum arose by virtue of a UN decision to regulate the market, and put an end to the phenomenon of blood diamonds. The criteria set by Kimberley have become law in 71 countries around the world, and diamond dealers operating within the diamond exchanges, including in Israel, are subject to binding laws.

Adv. Altshuler and our firm’s team has many years of unique experience in the diamond and gemstone industry – working with giant corporations, working with site providers and site owners, in debt settlements with local and international banks, in ongoing activities with the Israeli Diamond Exchange and the World Federation of the Diamond Bourses and diamond exchanges around the world, leading insurance companies and syndicates in the industry, various gemological laboratories as well as in insolvency and economic rehabilitation proceedings unique to this industry.

The legal angle of the diamond industry includes unique specializations in a large number of arenas: drafting partnership agreements / joint ventures in the field, ongoing advice in all matters related to labor law in light of expansion orders and collective agreements that exist in the industry, legal work with various gemological laboratories, legal work with the institutions of the Israeli Diamond Exchange and other exchanges in the world in everything related to the implementation / validity of the regulations of the Diamond Exchange in the light of preserving the rights of members of the Diamond Exchange, legal work and formulation of agreements with financial institutions and banks engaged in the field, both in Israel and outside Israel; drafting agreements and legal proceedings with site granting bodies.

Our firm has been consulting and accompanying the transfer of diamond polishing plants from Israel to various countries in the world, and currently, the transfer and accompaniment of polishing plants located in different countries around the world, to other countries – all in accordance with customer needs and changing trends in the global diamond market.

Our firm’s team of attorneys also has extensive experience in legal activities related to the CVD diamond market (laboratory diamonds), including negotiating and concluding agreements with the world’s leading raw laboratories.

Our firm has conducted and continues to conduct complex litigation proceedings with industry-leading insurance companies in relation to insurance claims in respect of incidents of diamond damage in their manufacturing processes; in relation to the theft / loss of diamond goods, all matters related to events involving acts of fraud and/or fraud by manufacturers / subcontractors, etc.

Additional litigation proceedings that we lead and conduct are related to the infringement of intellectual property of companies engaged in the diamond industry; accompanying and advising in arbitrations between diamond dealers who are members of various stock exchanges around the world, in representation and appearance in various committees (legal committees; entry bans committees; disciplinary committees, etc.), which are conducted within the walls of the various diamond exchanges.

Our firm has extensive experience in work related to regulatory matters of the diamond industry, such as working with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor and the Supervisor of Diamonds.

Adv. Altshuler has conducted and continues to conduct mediation proceedings between diamond dealers as well as voluntary arbitration proceedings between diamond dealers, who choose to resolve disputes between them outside the jurisdictional institutions of the diamond exchanges.