Welcome to the Diamond Standard podcast Clarity.

On Episode Eight of the Diamond Standard podcast Clarity, Managing Director Amelia Bourdeau is joined by Avi Krawitz, a top diamond industry thought leader and influencer.

After working as a business journalist for The Jerusalem Post, Avi stumbled into the diamond industry during a job interview with Martin Rapaport, founder of the Rapaport Group and its widely used Rapaport Price List.

Starting out as a reporter on www.rapaport.com and Rapaport Magazine, Avi soon offered more in-depth analysis about diamond industry news, events, and market conditions.

He now ranks among the leading voices in the industry, having hosted the popular Rapaport Diamond Podcast and the quarterly Diamond Trends webinars, and authored the monthly Rapaport Research Report, among countless other reports, articles and statements.

Now, Avi is bringing that experience to the wider industry as an independent consultant, journalist, and content creator, using his unique voice to help others understand the diamond market, and experience the industry through creative storytelling.

We know you will enjoy this conversation, which covers:

• 1:52 - Putting the natural diamond price decline in context.
• 5:00 - Discussion of inventory levels at the midstream. India's jewelry industry asks for a voluntary two month import ban on rough diamonds.
• 12:15 - Looking ahead to the holiday sales season.
• 15:13 - Signet's engagement (wedding) projection for 2024. Discussion of the importance of engagement ring sales for the diamond industry.
• 19:40 - Lab grown diamond ("LGD"). discussion
• 25:40 - LGD engagement ring price scenarios
• 28:00 - DeBeers Group's Lightbox experiment with LGD engagement rings
• 32:40 - When would price fall cause diamond mines stop mining production?
• 35:30 - DeBeers brings back "A diamond is forever" campaign
• 40:22 - Potential G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds
• 48:00 - Natural diamond production coming offline by 2030.

You can find Clarity’s Episode Eight with Avi Krawitz on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the Diamond Standard Institutional Media page.

• Find Diamond Standard: https://www.diamondstandard.co/
• Find the Avi Krawitz: https://www.avikrawitz.com/

Welcome to the Diamond Standard podcast Clarity.

In Episode Seven, host Managing Director Amelia Bourdeau is joined by Joseph (Joe) Cavatoni, Market Strategist North America, World Gold Council.

Joseph (Joe) Cavatoni joined the World Gold Council in September 2016 to lead business strategy for the Americas which includes oversight of investor relationships, product solutions, research, and marketing as well as the global ETFs platform.

He also serves as Principal Executive Officer for the World Gold Trust Services, LLC; President of WGC USA Asset Management Company, LLC; Board Member and President of WGC (US) Holdings, Inc.; and as a member of the Executive Committee.

During his three-decade career in the financial services industry, Joe has developed and demonstrated expertise in the areas of global capital markets, exchange traded funds, asset management, trading, and business/platform development. He also spent more than 15 years working in Asia. Prior to joining the World Gold Council, Joe was a managing director at BlackRock where he was responsible for iShares Capital Markets (Americas) and was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. His responsibilities also included product development and management as well as running a global team. Prior to BlackRock, he held senior positions at UBS, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America focused on equity derivatives trading, securities financing and lending.

You will enjoy and find value in this conversation on the gold market which includes:

• 1:00 – Stepping back - looking at central bank and retail gold buying in 2022.
• 3:25 – What is supporting the gold prices despite high US bond yields.
• 6:00 – Further unpacking central bank buying.
• 8:00 – What are institutions doing re gold and allocation in a portfolio.
• 12:20 – When Fed signals that rate cuts are imminent, how this could play out for gold.
• 13:05 – Drivers of gold demand. Gold's diversification properties in a portfolio.
• 16:00 – 2024 US Presidential election, geopolitical risk, the wall of worry, and gold.
• 20:30 – Risk factors need to be managed.
• 23:40 – Seasonality for gold. Some discussion on China and gold.
• 25:14 – The World Gold Council’s 247 initiative to modernize the gold market. Gold bar integrity – tracking and tracing through source and bringing gold inventory worldwide into a digital ledger.

You can find Clarity’s Episode Seven with Joe Cavatoni on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the Diamond Standard Institutional Media page.

Find Diamond Standard: https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Find the World Gold Council: https://www.gold.org/

Guest: Chris Marsh, Exante Data

Twitter: @generaltheorist @exantedata

Host: Amelia Bourdeau

Twitter: @ameliabourdeau @diamondstandard

Chris Marsh holds a PhD in international macroeconomics and has worked at the International Monetary Fund and in finance for 15 years.

An expert on IMF financial programming, Chris started The General Theorist blog in 2017 which focuses on the intersection between money and the balance of payments. His interests are global macro-financial linkages, central bank balance sheets, debt sustainability and emerging markets.

Recording date: July 21, 2023

Podcast Markers

• 1:13 - What has driven inflation: the pandemic, other shocks and increases in household wealth
• 5:52 - US June CPI
• 10:13 - UK inflation
• 15:25 - Eurozone inflation
• 20:00 - Transitory inflation discussion
• 26:11 - Importance of expectations
• 29:57 - Drivers of inflation in the future - 5 to 10 years out
• 36:36 - Demographic shift

Find Diamond Standard: https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Welcome to the Diamond Standard podcast Clarity.

In Episode Five, hosts Managing Director Amelia Bourdeau and Director Neshiva Chan are joined by Philip Newman, Managing Director - Metals Focus.

Note: This episode was recorded June 15, 2023, the day after the Fed paused at the June FOMC, as referenced in our discussion. At that time, fed fund futures expected one more 25bp rate hike and was moving toward pricing out rate cuts for 2023. Currently, a 25bp rate hike is priced in for the July FOMC and approximately a 15% probability of an additional 25bp rate hike in for the September FOMC. Rate cuts have been priced out for 2023 and approximately 150bp of rate cuts are priced in for 2024. So, the expectations have shifted to be less hawkish ahead for 2024. Post the downside surprise for US June core CPI, which came in at 4.8% y/y this week, fed fund futures priced in more rate cuts for 2024.

We know you will enjoy this conversation - it is wide ranging, covering:

1:00 - Metals Focus background and proprietary data

3:33 - Gold report and IPMI conference

5:55 - Gold price volatility key for dealers

8:36 - Gold investment demand and institutional allocations

11:53 - Fed outlook and gold price

13:40 - Central bank demand for gold

15:25 - Institutional demand and impact on the gold price

17:08 - Global growth - China risk

19:08 - Challenges forecasting gold price this year

21:35 - Discussion: de-dollarization, why central banks are buying gold, Central Bank of Turkey selling gold

27:55 - Luxury demand for jewelry

31:04 - Gold demand and price forecast components for 2023

36:54 - Crypto world and impact on gold

Recorded June 15, 2023

Find Metals Focus: https://www.metalsfocus.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetalsFocus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/metals-focus-ltd/

Diamond Standard: https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Podcast Markers

2:26 - Silver demand

6:28 - Silver jewelry

10:00 - Institutional vs retail investors in silver

14:30 - Silver deficit discussion

17:04 - Silver prices20:07 - Silver’s duality - precious and industrial

22:59 - Performance of silver in recessions

29:40 - Silver supply

32:10 - Silver recycling

34:04 - Institutional in 2022 and 2023

Find The Silver Institute:

The Silver Institute: https://www.silverinstitute.org/

World Silver Survey: https://www.silverinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/World-Silver-Survey-2023.pd

Subscribe to Silver Institute’s free monthly newsletter here https://www.silverinstitute.org/contact-us/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-dirienzo-56b02a1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverInstitute

Find Diamond Standard:

https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Sign up for market commentary: https://www.diamondstandard.co/market-commentary

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diamondstandard/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DiamondStandard

Recording date: May 10, 2023

Guest: Michael DiRienzo

Host: Amelia Bourdeau, Managing Director, Diamond Standard

Paul Zimnisky, CFA is a leading global diamond industry analyst based in the New York City metro area specializing in global diamond supply/demand fundamentals and the companies operating within the industry.

His research and analysis on the diamond industry, which includes natural as well as lab-grown diamonds, is used by financial institutions, management consulting firms, private and public corporations, governments, intergovernmental organizations and universities including: HSBC, UBS, Scotiabank, Fidelity Investments, KPMG, Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group, De Beers, Rio Tinto, Tiffany & Co., Cartier,

The International Monetary Fund and the governments of Canada, South Africa and Botswana.He has a monthly subscription-based diamond industry research report called State of the Diamond Market, a proprietary rough diamond price index called the Zimnisky Global Rough Diamond Price Index and a regular podcast called the Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics Podcast which is available on iTunes and Spotify.

Host: Amelia BourdeauManaging Director, Diamond Standard

Podcast Markers:

0:49 - Global luxury and diamond demand during the pandemic.

3:45 - LVMH and Richemont results. 10:20 - Diamond supply and production.

13:52 - DeBeers is no longer a monopoly.

15:37 - Russian diamond discussion

18:51 - Lab grown vs natural diamonds discussion

24:39 - Bubble territory for lab grown diamonds

28:49 - Other 2023 diamond market themes

Find Paul Ziminsky

Paul Zimnisky Diamond Analytics: https://www.paulzimnisky.com/homePaul Zimnisky Podcast: https://www.paulzimnisky.com/podcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulzimnisky/

Find the Natural Diamond Council

Natural Diamond Council: https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/

Find Diamond Standard:

https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Sign up for market commentary: https://www.diamondstandard.co/market-commentary

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diamondstandard/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DiamondStandard

Recording date: May 22, 2023

Guest: Paul Zimnisky

Host: Amelia Bourdeau, Managing Director, Diamond Standard

Guest: Bill Kelly, President & CEO, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (“CAIA”) Association

William (Bill) Kelly has been a frequent industry speaker, writer, and commentator on alternative investment topics globally since taking the CAIA Association’s leadership role in 2014. Previously, Bill was CEO of Boston Partners and one of seven founding partners of the predecessor firm, Boston Partners Asset Management which, prior to a majority interest being sold to Robeco Group in Rotterdam in 2002, was an employee-owned firm. Bill’s career in the institutional asset management space spans 30+ years where he gained extensive managerial experience through successive CFO, COO and CEO roles.

Podcast Markers:

0:44 - Background on CAIA and Bill’s role

3:11 - Instead of saying the 60-40 portfolio is “dead’, Bill has a new take on the 60-40 portfolio.

6:02 - ALTS investment: differences in definition for retail vs institutional. For institutions, managers and strategy matter greatly.

8:53 - Discussion on the liquidity of ALTS investment

12:10 - Volatility and ALTS. Owner of an asset vs the trader of an asset - this should be taken into consideration.

15:15: Portfolio of the future. Home of capital formation and value creation is in the private markets. Active engagement - a more responsible investor. Operational alpha.

19:45 - Does having to look for operation alpha in ALTS mean investments are getting crowded?

24:10 - ALTS is rapidly evolving, where does that leave the individual investor re: democratization of ALTS? Discussion on introduction of 401k - how the responsibility of managing retirement funds shifted from the company to the individual when companies moved away from the pension system. Suggestion for a better solution.

28:01 - Tokenization of assets. Could that help with liquidity and access?

30:06 - Merging themes we discussed.

31:05 - How does the CAIA Association stay up to date?

Find Bill and CAIA Association: https://caia.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caia-association/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CAIAAssociation

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-j-kelly-caia-ab50a947/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CAIA_BillKelly

Find Diamond Standard: https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Sign up for market commentary: https://www.diamondstandard.co/market-commentary

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diamondstandard/

Amelia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameliabourdeau/

Amelia Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmeliaBourdeau

Recorded May 1, 2023

END OF SHOW NOTES

John Reade joined the World Gold Council in February 2017 as Chief Market Strategist. He is responsible for producing strategy and developing insights on the gold market; leading our global dialogue by engaging with leading economists, academics, policy makers, fund managers and investors on gold; and leading our research team. John has over 30 years’ experience in the gold industry and related fields, most recently as a partner and gold strategist with Paulson & Co for the past seven years. Prior to that, he worked as a precious metals strategist at UBS for 10 years; a gold equity analyst in South Africa for 5 years; and over 8 years held various positions in production and project evaluation in the gold division of Gencor, then a leading South African mining house. John has a degree in Mining Engineering from the Royal School of Mines, a constituent of Imperial College, London.

Host: Amelia BourdeauManaging Director, Diamond Standard

Guest: John Reade - Market Strategist, World Gold Council

Podcast Markers

0:42 - John’s work background in the gold market.

2:55 - Mission of WGC

4:30 - Development of gold ETF

8:50 - Structure of gold market

13:22 - Institutional vs retail investing in gold. Physical fundamentals of the gold market.

Find the World Gold Council and John Reade

Website: https://www.gold.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GOLDCOUNCIL

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-gold-council/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JReade_WGC

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreade/

Find Diamond Standard:

Website: https://www.diamondstandard.co/

Sign up for market commentary: https://www.diamondstandard.co/market-commentary

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/diamondstandard/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DiamondStandard

Subscribe to Market Commentary here: https://www.diamondstandard.co/market-commentary

Amelia Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmeliaBourdeau

Amelia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameliabourdeau/

Recording date: May 18, 2023

End of Show Notes