David Troostwyk wrote at the World Diamond Council (WDC), I never set out to be President of the London Diamond Bourse (LDB).
If you’d told me years ago—when I was deep in the rough diamond trade in Africa, learning the ropes in Antwerp, or building my own business in London—that I’d be leading one of the most historic institutions in the industry, I probably would have laughed. But life has a funny way of preparing you for things without you even realizing it.
My journey in the diamond world has been anything but conventional. I wasn’t born into a diamond family, and I certainly didn’t have a mapped-out plan. I started out in the early 2000s in the rough diamond buying markets of Tanzania, where I learned first-hand the realities of the supply chain—from artisanal miners to international trading hubs.
That experience shaped my understanding of not just the product, but of the people, the global ecosystem that makes this industry tick, and the incredible positive impact natural diamonds have on diamond mining communities and the millions of people it serves downstream.
From Tanzania, I moved to Antwerp, and took every diamond course I could. I worked for some of the well-respected Sightholders, and immersed myself in the polished trade.
Over the years, I was technically trained in the polished diamond business—sorting, buying and selling. I worked in the administrative side. I built businesses and interacted with luxury brands across Europe, the United States and Asia.
I saw the industry evolve in real time. But it wasn’t until 2011 when I joined the London Diamond Bourse and, years later, when I began working on the Organizing Committee of the Young Diamantaires group that I truly understood the importance of community in this trade.
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