Antwerp mourns industry veteran Willy Rotti

Antwerp mourns the loss of industry veteran Willy Rotti, former President of the Diamantclub of Antwerp and honorary President of the Belgian Federation of Diamond Bourses who passed away on May 22. The Rotti family, one of the founding families of the Diamantclub of Antwerp, is a well-known name in the industry and has been active in the diamond industry for over 120 years.

Willy Rotti, following in the footsteps of his father Adolphe who steered the World Federation of Diamond Bourses from 1948 to 1965, dedicated his life and work to advancing the global diamond industry and the Antwerp diamond community in particular. Rotti is described by many as a true gentleman, eloquent and soft-spoken, just and wise. Throughout his many mandates, among others as President of the Belgian Federation of Diamond Bourses, he managed to bring stakeholders together and build bridges, in Antwerp and far beyond.

Michel Schonfeld, currently President of the Federation of Belgian Diamond Bourse and the Antwerpsche Diamantkring: “Willy Rotti was a role-model of wisdom, and an informed source of knowledge on diamond industry law and arbitration. Willy was a calm, kind, conflict-averse seeker of compromise, and a deeply cultured and refined gentleman of the greatest integrity. His unique space will stay unfilled, aside from his memory.”

Photo credit: Donald Woodrow