Several diamond industry leaders were in Bourse’s (MDB) acceptance as a member of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB). A central theme of the gathering was that Russia stands at the cusp of developing into a significant jewellery market, and the new bourse will be a valuable addition to the infrastructure serving the local industry and trade.%%At an event held on December 13th to mark the occasion, MDB president Lev Polyakov told the gathering that, as a young organisation in a developing market, the MDB is keen to receive the advice and assistance of the industry leaders present. He added that the operating licence obtained by the bourse would allow it to work not only with diamonds and coloured gemstones, but also with precious metals.%%Vitaly Basygysov, the director of the precious stones and metals committee of the State Duma, talked about the rapid changes the diamond and precious metals market had undergone in the past decade and a half.$$ Basygysov stressed that there had also been successes. Last year, precious stones and metals were removed from the law on hard currency control and regulation.