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Brand News: Forevermark Supports Rhino Rescue; New Custom Wedding Ring Brand Debuts February 17, 2016 (0 comments)
Forevermark Helps Support Rhino Rescue In Botswana
New York, NY—Forevermark and custom safari specialist EXPLORE, Inc. joined together to support Rhino Rescue Botswana. More than 100 guests attended a private dinner hosted by Chef Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin Privé benefiting Botswana’s newly-created Tlhokomela Trust. ‘Tlhokomela’ means ‘to protect’ in Setswana, reflecting the trust’s mission to perpetuate and expand Botswana’s vast and pristine wilderness areas and protect critically endangered rhino and other species.
Once widespread in Southern Africa, the white rhino is now listed as ‘near-threatened’ and black rhino ‘critically endangered’ according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. A rhino is killed every seven minutes in Southern Africa due to the skyrocketing value of rhino horn in Asia, which has made it more valuable than gold.
Special guests including the Hon. Minister Tshekedi Khama of the Botswana Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, legendary activist Gloria Steinem, actress Uma Thurman, model Coco Rocha and husband James Conran attended in support of rhino conservation.
Cherri Briggs, safari specialist and conservation-activist of EXPLORE Inc, conceived of the event after taking Eric Ripert and Uma Thurman to Botswana in an effort to raise awareness of plight of the rhino.
Actress Uma Thurman, left, and model Coco Rocha, right, are active supporters of rhino conservation.
Forevermark’s support of the Tlhokomela Trust is part of the ongoing commitment by De Beers to protect the diversity of the natural world in which it operates. For every acre of land used for mining by De Beers, five acres are dedicated to the conservation of nature, building thriving ecosystems with healthy populations of native wild animals and plants.
“A diamond is a treasure of nature, created by the earth billions of years ago. Our passion for diamonds is matched by our deep sense of connection with the natural world, which we are dedicated to protecting for future generations,” said Stephen Lussier, CEO of Forevermark and Executive Vice President of Marketing for De Beers. “We are proud to join with the Government of Botswana in promoting rhino conservation globally.”
De Beers has been active in rhino conservation since the 1970s and is a strong supporter of the Government of Botswana’s progressive conservation program. Debswana, a joint venture partnership between the Government of Botswana and De Beers, currently supports approximately 50 per cent of Botswana’s white rhino population. The Debswana rhino conservation project aims to grow and improve the genetic diversity of the rhino population before relocation back into the natural habitat.
Both the Orapa Game Park and Jwana Game Park, which surround Debswana’s Orapa and Jwaneng Mines, are home to several thousand animals, including, rhino, giraffe, zebra, baboon, cheetah, leopard and many other animal species. The Jwana Game park spans more than 40,000 acres of protected land, while the Orapa Game park currently consists of 30,000 acres with plans to expand to more than 100,000 acres. Balisi Bonyongo, Managing Director of Debswana, is the chairman of the Tlhokomela Trust.
New Customizable Wedding Ring Brand Debuts At Centurion
Scottsdale, AZ—EVERBAND, a new division of New York-based diamond and gem jewelry manufacturer Colormasters, celebrated its launch to the industry with a private dinner Jan. 31 during the Centurion Scottsdale show. The event, held at Jean-Georges’ J&G Steakhouse in Scottsdale, hosted a select group of top jewelry retailers who were invited to launch the collection as ambassadors for the collection: Lux Bond & Green (Connecticut locations), London Jewelers (Long Island, NY), Longs Jewelers (Boston, MA area), Tiny Jewel Box (Washington, DC), Mednikow Jewelers (Atlanta, GA and Nashville, TN), Craig's Fine Jewelry (Ridgefield, CT) and Bachendorfs (Dallas, TX), among others.
EVERBAND features a unique design concept, beginning with one signature wedding diamond discreetly positioned on the inside of a wedding band, signifying the start of the couple's journey. Through the brand’s CRM system, couples are invited back to their EVERBAND retailer each year to celebrate their anniversary and mark milestones of their love by adding an anniversary diamond to either the inside or outside of the band.
The new Everband brand of wedding rings allows a diamond to be added inside the ring each year.
The brand’s proprietary and highly customized CRM online ordering, servicing and marketing system, gives retailers the opportunity to capture their customers’ data, customize ring desire, place orders, and set up future marketing communication. Its technology is designed to enhance and strengthen the relationship between retailers and their customers by providing programmed electronic marketing and communication that reminds customers to return to their retailer for their anniversary diamond.
"We have spent the last few years in mastering the engineering behind offering 25 and 50 year bands in sizes from 4-13 in various millimeters, designs and styles, as well as securing global patents,” said Joe Mardkha, CEO. Retailer John Green of Lux Bond & Green added praise for the design, sentiment, and marketable longevity of the collection.
The brand will make its debut in independent jewelry stores in the early summer and plans a national digital and print brand awareness campaign in third and fourth quarters of 2016.