HB Antwerp
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Oded Mansori (Founder, Managing Partner) Shai de Toledo (Founder, Managing Partner) Rafael Papismedov (Founder, Managing Partner) Boaz Lev(Managing Partner) |
Number of employees | 107[1] (2022) |
HB Antwerp is a diamond manufacturer and technology company based in Antwerp, Belgium.[2][3][4][5] HB Antwerp was co-founded by Oded Mansori, Shai de Toledo and Rafael Papismedov in 2020[3] and collaborates with the government of Botswana and the Lucara Diamond Corporation.[5]
Operations
HB Antwerp was established to simplify the supply chain and increase transparency and sustainability.[6][5] The company controls its entire production chain,[2] and tracks, analyzes and polishes stones with AI and blockchain technology.[6] In contrast with the traditional industry model, HB Antwerp and Lucara share revenues from the sale of polished and cut diamonds with the Botswana government.[7]
In 2021, the company opened the HB Academy to train diamond specialists[8] as well as the HB Innovation Lab in partnership with WomHub, a South Africa-based incubator for women.[9]
HB Antwerp is the owner of Signum, a customized rough diamond brand.[4] Signum also sold 12 NFT cryptoart diamonds, each styled to look like a rough stone.[10][2]
Noted stones
In January 2020, HB Antwerp partnered with Lucara and Louis Vuitton to analyze, cut and polish the “Sewelo” diamond, the second-to-largest stone ever found,[11][12] with the help of a custom-built scanner and other imaging technologies.[13] HB Antwerp later agreed to purchase all of Lucara’s large stones (10.8 carats and up) throughout the rest of the year, with prices based on the estimated polished value of each diamond.[14]
In November 2020, Louis Vuitton announced the acquisition of “Sethunya”, a 549-carat diamond also discovered in Botswana, in partnership with HB Antwerp and Lucara.[15][16]
In September 2021, HB Antwerp and Lucara unveiled a 1,175-carat rough diamond in New York City, also extracted from the Karowe mine in Botswana.[17]
References
- ^ "Antwerpse diamant duikt de metaverse in". DE TIJD. January 22, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Antwerpse diamant duikt de metaverse in". DE TIJD. January 22, 2022.
- ^ a b "HB Antwerp la pepite belge qui taille des diamants pour Vuitton Co". L'Echo. November 5, 2020.
- ^ a b "Why everyone wants a diamond in the rough". Financial Times. April 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c "The good gem guide". Financial Times. October 18, 2021.
- ^ a b "Hoffentlich wird es kein Pferdekopf". Frankfurter Allgemeine. November 23, 2020.
- ^ "Masisi Uses Lucara to Pressure De Beers for Better Revenue Sharing Deal". Africa Intelligence. April 7, 2022.
- ^ "Antwerps diamantbedrijf HB opent eigen academie voor diamantslijpers". VRT. July 14, 2021.
- ^ "HB Antwerp Opens Diamond Training Academy". National Jeweler. July 16, 2021.
- ^ "This NFT Project Offers 'Digital Restitution' for Looted African Art". ART news. May 24, 2022.
- ^ "Unieke diamant zoekt doorwinterde koper". De Tijd. December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Louis Vuitton Wants to Turn This Dark Diamond into Jewelry". National Jeweler. January 21, 2020.
- ^ "The Second-Biggest Diamond in History Has a New Owner". NY Times. January 15, 2020.
- ^ "Lucara's Q2 Sales Drop as It Holds onto Big Stones". National Jeweler. August 11, 2020.
- ^ "Antwerps bedrijf mag opnieuw uitzonderlijke diamant slijpen voor Louis Vuitton". VRT. November 5, 2020.
- ^ "Louis Vuitton's Latest Acquisition: Immense 549-Carat Diamond Named "Sethunya"". HypeBeast. November 5, 2020.
- ^ "Massive uncut diamond unveiled in New York". Reuters. September 21, 2021.