Articles and News
Industry News: D.E.F. Grants $140,000; GIA Explores Emerald Mines; Richline CMO On Trust; More October 22, 2014 (0 comments)
Diamond Empowerment Fund Makes $240,000 In Grants
New York, NY—The board of directors of the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.) has approved funding grants to its existing beneficiaries, the African Leadership Academy, Botswana Top Achievers Program, and CIDA City Campus, and added a $15,000 donation to the Tanzania-based Flaviana Matata Foundation (left).
“We are thrilled to be supporting these four amazing programs,” said Phyllis Bergman, president of D.E.F’s board of directors. “Each of these organizations has a mission of empowerment through education, which reflects the core of D.E.F.’s mission. We are thankful for the support of our partners and look forward to continuing to spread the message that through the industry’s efforts, ‘Diamonds Do Good’.”
The $240,000 is the result of funds raised by D.E.F’s “Diamonds In The Sky Las Vegas” event, held May 29 at the Four Seasons Hotel. D.E.F received a tremendous outpouring of support by the industry, including Premier Presenting Sponsors De Beers Group of Companies, Rio Tinto Diamonds, and Signet Jewelers Limited. Premier Partner Sponsor was Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, and Premier Patron Sponsors were KGK Group, Le Vian Group and Tiffany & Co. Click here for a full listing of sponsors and more information about the Diamonds In The Sky event.
DEF’s first beneficiary, CIDA City Campus, is South Africa’s first non-profit university to offer a four-year business degree. CIDA has an 80% employment rate among graduates. The African Leadership Academy is a university preparatory school in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded on the belief that ethical leadership is the key to sustainable development on the continent. Students come from all 54 countries in Africa. The Botswana Top Achievers program provides that country’s top high school students the opportunity to study at a university of their choice worldwide. Graduates then return to Botswana to contribute to its economic, social and political development. Flaviana Matata, an international fashion model and D.E.F. Ambassador, founded her eponymous Foundation to create a future through education and improve livelihoods among the youth in Tanzania.
D.E.F is also actively looking to expand its beneficiaries to other areas of the world where the industry does business. Meanwhile, in an effort to further communicate the positive impact the jewelry industry has on diamond communities, D.E.F will highlight scholars from each of its existing beneficiary programs on its consumer-facing ‘DiamondsDoGood.Com’ website, set to launch in late 2014.
D.E.F. Scholars will also be in attendance at the upcoming GOOD Awards (www.goodawards.org) in New York City on January 8. The evening will honor the good works of Jane Seymour and her Open Hearts Foundation, together with David Rocha and Jewelers for Children.
Separately, D.E.F. has appointed two additional global industry leaders to its board of directors: David Prager, head of corporate affairs for the De Beers Group of Companies, and Kent Wong Siu Kee, managing director of Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited.
Prager lends D.E.F his insight into the expectations of consumers and the corresponding pressures on production. His work across geographies and with a diverse set of stakeholders will be especially helpful as D.E.F expands its ‘diamonds do good’ mission to global communities.
“Diamonds are a finite resource, pushing us to ensure we are using them to add value to the communities we work in, the infrastructure we rely on, and the colleagues we work with. Since its founding, D.E.F has helped the industry shine a light on the positive role diamonds play in the journey from mine to finger – enabling consumers to be proud of the diamonds they own,” he said.
Wong broadens D.E.F’s worldwide representation to the important, and growing, diamond and jewelry sector in Hong Kong and Mainland China. A veteran with substantial experience in both operations and management in the jewelry industry, Wong was named one of the “25 Influential Chinese in Global Fashion” by world-renowned business magazine Forbes in 2012.
An active leader across Hong Kong and Mainland China’s industry associations, Wong says, “As a vertically integrated jewelry retailer that is active in all aspects of the diamond and jewelry supply chain, we understand the importance of supporting communities along the diamond’s journey. I am eager to help further extend D.E.F’s mission and communicate to consumers around the world these good works.“
D.E.F’s board now includes: Phyllis Bergman, president and CEO of Mercury Ring; Lita Asscher, president of Royal Asscher of America; Nicola Breytenbach-Steiner, actress and philanthropist; Cathy Calhoun, president of Calhoun Jewelers; Meir Dalumi, director of the Dalumi Group; Dylan Dix, marketing director of Crossworks; Peter Engel, president of Fred Meyer Jewelers; Rebecca Foerster, executive vice president of Leo Schachter Diamonds; Ellen Haddigan executive director of the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering; Edward Hrabak, president of Sterling Jewelers Inc.; Michael Kaplan, president of Rocket Redbox; Anna Martin, senior vice president of global development for GIA; Kaushik Mehta, chairman of Eurostar Diamond Traders; Sally Morrison, DEF co-founder and managing director, World Gold Council; Scott Rauch, DEF co-founder and president, SHR Jewelry Group; Bruno Sané, general manager marketing for Rio Tinto Diamonds; Hedda Schupak, editor of The Centurion Newsletter; Varda Shine, DEF co-founder; Elliott Tannenbaum, partner, Leo Schachter Diamonds; Jean Paul Tolkowsky, president of Exelco; Yancy Weinrich, group vice president of JCK; and Jaci Wilson-Reid, philanthropist.
D.E.F.’s advisory board includes Russell Simmons, co-founder and CEO of Rush Communications; Dilip Mehta, CEO of Rosy Blue Group; H.E. Festus G. Mogae, former president of the Republic of Botswana; and Linah Mohohlo, governor, Bank of Botswana.
GIA Field Gemologists Gain Insight into Zambian Emerald Mining
Carlsbad, CA—A team of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) field researchers journeyed to Zambia last month to collect emerald samples for the Institute’s gem identification database and to document the current state of Kagem, the world’s largest emerald mine, located in the Kafubu mining area. Since Gemfields, the publicly-traded gemstone mining company, acquired the open pit mining operations six years ago, ore mining has increased from 3,000 to 8,000 tons per month, and rock handling has increased from 125,000 to 750,000 tons per month.
The research team was comprised of field gemologists Vincent Pardieu and Andrew Lucas; Gems & Gemology (G&G) technical editor Tao Hsu; videographer Didier Gruel; and expedition guest Stanislas Detroyat.
“I’ve visited numerous colored gemstone mining operations throughout the world, but one of this size, modernization and organization really gives a visual of the changes that may be coming to our industry,” said Lucas.
“Standing in front of the pit is like looking at a geological textbook,” added Detroyat. By combining an understanding of the geology with professional mining methods, Gemfields has turned Kagem into a profitable operation. In July 2009, its first high-grade rough emerald auction achieved $4.4 million, and in February 2014, $59.31 million.
Along with a standardized grading system for emerald rough and an auction platform, environmentally sound practices and community outreach programs have revolutionized the mine-to-market gemstone business. In-pit dumping ensures that the environmental liability is kept as low as possible, while increased exploratory drilling, mapping of pegmatite and talc magnetite schist, resource calculations and mining software have improved the technical output of the mine.
Pardieu, Detroyat, and Gruel continued on to additional Zambian emerald mines to collect comparative samples. At Musakashi in the Solwesi province, the team confirmed the existence of an emerald deposit with interesting internal features and color reminiscent of Colombian emeralds, as reported in the summer 2014 issue of G&G.
In keeping with its mission to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry, GIA regularly conducts research field trips to important gem and jewelry centers around the globe, incorporating findings into research practices and education programs and providing information to the trade and public. GIA emphasizes that while it appreciates the access and information provided during these visits; however, they should not be taken as or used as a commercial endorsement. Findings from the Zambia field trip will be featured in an upcoming issue of G&G, as well as in field reports and video documentaries on www.gia.edu.
Left: Tao Hsu with a large emerald found at the Charma pit of the Kagem mine. This will be added to the GIA reference collection for research and educational purposes. Photo by Vincent Pardieu; © GIA. Right: Robert Gessner from Gemfields explains the local geology underground at the Kagem mine to Tao Hsu, Andrew Lucas and Stanislas Detroyat. Photo by Vincent Pardieu; © GIA.
Richline’s Mark Hanna Preaches “Trustability” at Portland Jewelry Symposium
Portland, OR—Addressing more than 120 attendees at the opening night dinner of Portland Jewelry Symposium October 5-6, Richline’s chief marketing officer Mark Hanna focused on building trust in the jewelry industry.
“We are an industry where trust is paramount, with each other and the consumer,” said Hanna. “The future viability of the jewelry industry depends on our trustability.”
Hanna stressed the importance of jewelry businesses large and small to act responsibly and transparently when sourcing precious metals and gemstones, manufacturing, marketing, and selling jewelry to the end consumer. “Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair,” he noted.
In addition to describing the efforts of a number of industry groups and trade organizations to streamline the processes required to effect social responsibility in our industry, Hanna sounded off on the current “Made in the USA” federal laws—which make it virtually impossible for any jewelry makers in the U.S. to label their products “Made in America.” Hanna was candid about his personal frustration with the issue, explaining that Richline, in cooperation with key industry leaders, would “continue to fight this particularly unfair law.”
Discussions of building trust in the jewelry industry continued the following day during the Symposium presentations, where several speakers addressed related issues:
Stewart Grice of Hoover and Strong gave suggestions for how to source supplies and work responsibly in his presentation, “Social Responsibility for the Small Shop.”
“More consumers than ever are now interested in responsibly sourced jewelry and are demanding more transparency throughout the whole supply chain. Whether you are a manufacturing jeweler or a designer, own multiple stores or a single shop, you have options to provide the consumer with what they want.” He outlined a number of eco-friendly approaches to common shop practices, and offered places to obtain responsibly sourced and recycled precious metals and gems.
Andy Holwell of Johnson Matthey NY, in his Precious Metals Market Outlook, touched on the reality of using recycled precious metals versus freshly mined metal. "Sustainability is about recycling, but also a holistic view of where we source metal and how our operations are responsible towards the environment and our communities. It's about transparency, compliance and certification, about engaging a partner whom you trust is ‘doing the right thing;’ being comfortable with the values of that partner.”
Rounding out the day were a series of inspiring presenters, including Claudia Kretchmer of Steven Kretchmer Designs, who shared a moving review of her late father’s innovations in the fields of alloy development and jewelry design; Tina Snyder of STACKED New York, who offered actionable advice and strategies for building a jewelry brand using traditional marketing and social media; and Ronda Coryell of Ronda Coryell Designs, who demonstrated granulation techniques and fusing gold to Argentium silver live at the bench.
The Portland Jewelry Symposium, now in its seventh year, is sponsored by TechForm Advanced Casting Technology, MJSA, Rio Grande, Platinum Guild International, Johnson Matthey NY, GIA, Solidscape, The Richline Group, The Santa Fe Symposium, Jewelers of America, Superfit Inc., Cooksongold, Stuller, Gemvision, A3DM Technologies, John C. Nordt Co, Lashbrook Designs, Dawson Distributions, and United Precious Metal Refining.
For a full list of presentation topics, click here.
Israel/New York Diamond Week Opens November 10
New York, NY—From November 10-13, the Diamond Dealers Club of New York (DDC), in conjunction with the Israel Diamond Exchange, will host a four-day diamond sales festival on its trading floor in the city’s renowned diamond district.
"Diamond Week can be seen as the last opportunity before the holiday sales season for diamond buyers to take part in a well-organized and highly concentrated diamond buying event," IDE president Shmuel Schnitzer commented. "After Thanksgiving, diamonds buyer and jewelers will have no other opportunities in this special format to pursue their diamond needs.”
Buyers can visit hundreds of diamantaires on the DDC trading floor, including 100 from Israel, all members of the Israel Diamond Exchange who will display a wide variety of fancy shapes, fancy color diamonds, and lots of larger goods in quantities and qualities rarely seen on the DDC floor.
The bi-annual diamond sales event is jointly organized by the IDE and DDC, the largest diamond exchanges in the western world. It offers a special opportunity for jewelry manufacturers and jewelry retailers who usually do not visit the DDC.
Click here to register as a buyer.