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New York, NY—In his introductory remarks at the 2010 Rapaport International Diamond Conference, chairman Martin Rapaport told attendees we are living in a transparent new world, and one that is transparent.

“It’s not like you have a choice,” he said. “You are transparent.”

With his characteristic bluntness, Rapaport said globalization is changing the game, and he predicts a currency warfare coming.

“Interest rates are not going to stay near zero. It’s unsustainable,” he said. He believes that gold is a form of money, not a commodity—and as such it’s not that gold goes up, it’s that the dollar comes down.

He also predicts the rupee will come off the dollar, which, he says, will be a seismic change for the industry.

He next addressed demographics. Bye-bye boomers, he says, and hello to a new customer mindset. “Do not assume the younger generation is into diamonds unless we give them a reason. The iPad is the new three-stone ring! It’s the coolest thing. I love playing with it!” The industry, he says, has not come up with an iPad of its own, and that’s troubling.

Finally, he emphasized that while the world is changing, he—one of the industry’s top change agents—actually doesn’t advocate change just for change’s sake.

“If you’re really good at what you do, do it. Be comfortable enough to not change if what you do is working.” But, he cautions, don’t let confidence turn into complacency, either.  

“Stop taking the diamond dream for granted.”

By Hedda Schupak,

Editor, The Centurion