Earlier this month, Backes & Strauss' Chief Executive Mr Vartkess Knadjian, was kindly invited by the De Beers Group to speak at their annual Diamond Conference in Gaborone, Botswana. Under Vartkess' leadership over the past 35 years, Backes & Strauss - the world's oldest diamond company (est. 1789) - has been transformed into one of the world's finest jewelled timepiece creators, where highest specification diamonds meet with time in its most precise form.

The Diamond Conference speaks to the core aspirations of the partnership between Government and De Beers Group in support of the aspirations of their producer governments to continue to play a leadership role in the diamond value chain and create economic impact for the communities. Africa is the world's largest producer of diamonds, producing as much as 50% of global production. To date, Africa has produced over 75%, in value, of the world's diamonds with more than 1.9 billion carats worth an estimated $US158 billion mined.The Diamond Conference is the only diamond specific forum on the African continent and over the past 4 years has evolved in size, influence and significance as a key platform for engagement for the Global diamond industry.

One of the four main themes of this year's conference was Cluster Development; in terms of the diamond supply chain, innovation, disruption and various factors that impact the industry directly or indirectly. Today, there is need to explore the opportunity to create a self-regulating, evidence-based innovation pipeline that will support commercial longevity in the current Global context. Under this theme, Mr Vartkess Knadjian spoke about how - for over 230 years - Backes & Strauss has ensured brand longevity and growth in the luxury sector.

Vartkess explained that, in order to secure and guarantee the future of a luxury brand, one must be a master storyteller, have a strong grasp of the definition of luxury as well as evolve and adapt to the times and base business decisions to the demands of the market. Over more than 2 centuries, Backes & Strauss grew from being goldsmiths, to jewellery producers, to traders and manufacturers of diamonds and finally a watch brand. Today, together with his son and daughter, Vartkess looks forward to building the stepping stones for the next chapter of the brand to ensure an exciting and bright future (pun intended)!