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Dicaprio to Visit the Israel Diamond Exchange | 
Leonardo Dicaprio - who was nominated for the best actor Oscar for his performance in the movie, Blood Diamond - was invited to visit the Israel Diamond Exchange during his trip in March 2007.
Dicaprio was in the country on a private visit, but in many interviews the actor said that the time he spent filming in Africa had a serious impact on the way he thought about diamonds; therefore, some of the members of the diamond community were hoping that they could exchange views with him about this if he would only accept the invitation.
They had hoped to show him how the Kimberley Process works at a cutting center level and introduce him to the many safeguards that the Israeli industry takes when importing rough diamonds to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the supply chain.
The majority of diamonds today have achieved the status of being conflict-free because of the Kimberley Process Certification System (KPCS), which requires participating governments and 71 countries to ensure that each shipment of rough diamonds is shipped in a secure container and accompanied by a Kimberley Process Certificate.
All diamonds entering Israel must be accompanied by such a certificate.
After this, retailers are supplied with a Series of Warranties by their suppliers when the polished diamonds are exported from Israel.
Gareth Penny, the Managing Director of the De Beers Group, said recently, “The Kimberley Process is the diamond industry’s primary safeguard and gives consumers assurance that their diamonds are conflict free. I salute all the participants of the Kimberley Process in reducing conflict diamonds to less than 1% of world rough diamond production.”
The invitation to Dicaprio was conveyed through his public relations firm, Ken Sunshine, in New York.
The invitation stressed the fact that the Diamond Exchange is a very secure facility and that he would be safe from the photographers and reporters who have been following him around the country. Because of a number of incidents with photographers while he was in Israel, it was reported that Dicaprio's representative, Ken Sunshine, had been contacted, but he said that he wasn't aware of what was actually going on with Dicaprio during his trip. "I'm in New York, he's in Israel, I just don't know," Sunshine told The ShowBuzz at the beginning of the week.
Eli Avidar, Managing Director of the Israel Diamond Institute said: "The Israeli diamond industry was one of the founders of the Kimberley Process, and continues to play an active role in strengthening this mechanism. We are dedicated to ensuring that our diamonds are totally conflict-free. We are happy to invite Di Caprio to visit the Israel Diamond Industry and see this for himself." |
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