The first-ever Diamantaire of the Year award, an initiative of the WFDB General Assembly, was given posthumously to Moshe Schnitzer during the opening ceremony of the World Diamond Congress in Shanghai.

"We were very much aware that the first recipient of the Diamantaire of the Year award would set the benchmark for all those who followed, and consequently we pledged to set our sights as high as possible. It is for this reason that we decided the "Diamantaire of the Year 2008" will be presented posthumously, to an individual who was taken from us nine months ago, but whose legacy will continue for many years to come,” says Ernie Blom, former President of the WFDB.