Botswana diamonds fly off Chinese shelves

Staff Writer | Thursday December 1, 2011 00:00

 

Swana diamonds are handmade by Batswana polishers employed by Dalumi Diamonds at Nkoyaphiri Industrial Estate and feature 89 facets or reflective flat faces as opposed to the usual 57 cut into most stones. The higher number of facets means Swana diamonds boast exceptional sparkle, brilliance and glitter and fetch a higher price than their peers. Despite the higher price, Swana diamonds flew off shelves at Sichuan Aixin Jewellery chain shops in the Chinese province during the 2011 Golden Week from October 1 to 7. Sichuan Aixin is the sole distributor of Swana stones in the province of over 90 million people, the fourth most populous in the Oriental giant.

Said Aixin Group President, Xiong Bao Xing, in an interview in Gaborone last week: 'The Swana diamonds sold out on October 1, while by comparison only a third of the other regular 57-facet stones were sold during the Golden Week in Sianchu.

'There's very strong demand for these stones. Chinese consumers showed very high acceptance of the product, although it was more expensive than the regular stones.

'Dalumi is ramping up production to meet the demand from Chinese consumers and we also have plans to increase the volume of stones we buy from them. We also intend to intensify promotion and marketing of Swana.'

Xing said Sichuan Aixin Jewellery was conducting educational and marketing promotions on an ongoing basis around Swana diamonds, highlighting their aesthetic advantages over the regular stones. He added that customers in the Sianchu province were increasingly being sold on the added value from the handmade Botswana produced stones.

'In addition, the demand is also about the story of where these diamonds are coming from,' said Xing whose jewellery company boasts turnover of US$30 million(P224)  million annually. 'Customers know that they are being sourced from a good place. The growth (in demand) for Swana has been very fast as seen by the sales during the Golden Week.'

The jewellery chain plans to establish a high-end retail shop for exclusive clientele, featuring larger and higher quality stones.

The Managing Director of Dalumi Group, Kobi Itzchaki, said the partnership with Sichuan Aixin Jewellery began two years ago and is leveraged on the international brand goodwill associated with Botswana and the unique handicraft of the Swana stones.

He said numerous promotional activities had been conducted, including the recent visit to Botswana by Chinese print and broadcast media to the Dalumi factory in Nkoyaphiri to see Swana's production firsthand.

'The idea is to tell the story about Botswana diamonds and Swana, looking at where these stones come from,' said Itzchaki. 'Swana is a salute to the country and the effort that has gone into making this industry positive and healthy.

'Our growth and that of the industry would not have been possible without government support. We have the right conditions to bring these visitors and investors and show them the huge potential of Botswana.'

Dalumi has already purchased 10 000 square metres of land in front of the Diamond Hub for the construction of a larger factory next year. The company plans to invest more than P6 million in the first phase of the project as it doubles the capacity of its current factory.

'This is because we believe the country is evolving and changing and it's going to become one of the leading centres as a result of the Botswana Government's support,' Itzchaki said.

Dalumi presently employs 215 people.