Three senior and well-known Palanpuri diamantaires – Anoop Mehta, Vipul Shah and Rajiv Mehta – have been chosen as members of the Board of Directors of the World Diamond Council (WDC) for the period 2022-24. 
 

Elections for eight of the 20 seats on the Board were held in early May, with Anoop Mehta and Vipul Shah being elected to represent Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) and The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) respectively on the Board in the Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade categories. While the former was re-elected, having earlier served on the Board, Vipul Shah is newly elected in place of late Palanpuri diamantaire Sanjay K. Shah who was a Board member since 2021. Rajiv Mehta, who represents Dimexon Diamonds in the Manufacturing category, continues on the Board having been elected in an earlier cycle.
 

WDC, which was set up 2001, is purported to speak and act on the industry’s behalf in international forums, such as the Kimberley Process. It has 40 members representing the entire diamond industry from miners to jewelers and associations, making it the only diamond body where the supply chain is represented in full.
 

The Board of Directors is divided into five categories, namely the extraction of diamonds, the manufacturing (cutting and polishing) of diamonds, the wholesale diamond trade, the retail trade in diamonds and diamond-set jewelry, and other industry stakeholders, such as banks, secured transport and logistic companies and additional service providers. Based on the principles of rotation and continuity of experience of the Board, at least five (5) of the Directors will be elected every two years.