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Industry News: D.E.F. Grants $470,000; Four 2020 JFC Rings Of Strength Events; AGS Lab Goes Digital October 08, 2019 (0 comments)
Diamond Empowerment Fund Increases Giving; Announces Beneficiaries In India, Africa, Canada
New York, NY—The Diamond Empowerment Fund is granting $470,000 to nine beneficiaries spanning diamond mining and manufacturing communities across three continents. (Left: Nancy Orem Lyman, Diamond Empowerment Fund executive director with Krupaliben Shah, principal at Ambaba Girls School in Surat, India, and the school's science and physics teachers.)
Putting action behind the rallying cry that ‘Diamonds Do Good’, the grants will support girls’ education, entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, and higher education opportunites, leading to meaningful change for communities where natural diamonds are found and cut.
This year marks a first-time grant focused on a STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program for high school girls at the Ambaba Girls School in Surat, India, where nine out of 10 natural diamonds are cut and polished. The Diamond Empowerment Fund also continues to support higher education in India via Veerayatan, in western Gujurat.
In Africa, grants are being given in Tanzania to support girls education via the Flaviana Matata Foundation and the Graca Machel Trust; in Botswana, through higher education scholarship support of the Botswana Top Achievers Program, as well as empowering youth afflicted with HIV through Sentebale; while in South Africa, graduate students are supported through the Mandela Institute for Development Studies.
In the Northwest Territories of Canada, technical training scholarships for diamond industry jobs as well as entrepreneurship studies will again be given to youth from indigenous communities through the Mine Training Society.
These programs will not only promote meaningful change in these communities, but offer more examples of the many ways that Diamonds Do Good. Jewelers who tell these stories at the counter help customers to feel good in every way about their natural diamond purchases. Click here to access the Diamonds Do Good Report and tell more stories about the good that diamonds do.
Jewelers for Children Rings of Strength Event Expands To Four Events In 2020
New York, NY—Jewelers for Children’s popular Rings of Strength event, launched in Las Vegas in 2013, will be held during four key industry events in 2020: the Centurion Jewelry Show in Phoenix, AZ on January 28; AGS Conclave in Denver, CO on April 27; again during jewelry market week in Las Vegas on June 1; and at the Atlanta Jewelry Show in Atlanta, GA on August 8. Options for participation will again include a bike ride for the Las Vegas edition and a 5K walk or run, or early morning yoga at all locations.
Participants can visit www.ringsofstrength.org to sign up. During sign-up, participants create their own unique fundraising page and URL which can be forwarded to friends and acquaintances to sponsor your participation. Participants can sign up as individuals or build a team page with friends to create even more excitement. All funds raised will benefit the Jewelers for Children charity partners.
Sponsorship opportunities include event specific sponsorship, as well as participant SWAG sponsorships that will cover all four events. All the details on sponsorships as well as details on each of the four events can be found at www.ringsofstrength.org.
“The Rings of Strength events make is possible for everyone to be involved in Jewelers for Children and support kids in need,” said Debra Puzio, JFC’s new board chair. Anybody can sign up and create their own fundraising page and help make a difference.”
The event was named for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital patients Maggie and Odie. When Maggie spoke at the Facets of Hope event in 2012, she shared the story of how she gave Odie a ring with the word Strength engraved in it as they fought their shared battle with cancer. Each participant receives a silver ring like it to commemorate their participation in the event, courtesy of Ashi Diamonds.
AGS Laboratories Releases Digital Diamond Grading Reports
Las Vegas, NV--AGS Laboratories announces the launch of its grading reports in a digital platform. The digital documents serve as an official grading report and will be formatted the same as AGS Laboratories’ printed documents.
“We’re excited to add digital documents to our product offering. Digital documents help us in our commitment to environmental management by reducing paper, as well as, reducing operational costs for everyone in the supply chain across a variety of processes: shipping, storing, and replacement of lost documents,” said Jason Quick, AGS Laboratories executive director.
The document resides on AGS Laboratories' Only My Diamond® (OMD) so that consumers are getting the benefits of the platform, including an actual video of the diamond, a clear-cut explanation of the 4Cs, the diamond’s clarity plot, laser inscription, and social media sharing options. Previous versions of OMD had an online copy of the grading report, while the official document was in printed form.
“By incorporating the official digital grading report into the OMD experience, the retailer can present the diamond with a grading report that their customers will find both fun and interesting,” said Quick.
Another benefit of the digital report is that no app is needed: the document can be accessed through the Report Verification function on agslab.com or from display cards in the store, which features a QR Code linking to the document. If a consumer, retailer, or the supplier wants a physical grading report, one can be ordered from AGS Laboratories.
The first digital documents are already in use by Helzberg Diamonds for the Kalahari Dream collection, in advance of the holiday shopping season.
To learn more about AGS Laboratories and the products and services that they offer, including the digital documents, visit agslab.com or contact support@agslab.com. Use hashtag #AskForAGS.