Articles and News

Diamond Empowerment Fund Launches The Good Report; Adds Third Honoree To Annual January Awards Event

New York, NY—To help communicate its breadth of activities and stories of empowerment through education, the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF) launched its new online newsletter, titled The Good Report, which highlights students’ stories of achievement gained through the support of the diamond industry. It also features the industry’s own good works in supporting African communities where they do business; recent and upcoming activities such as the GOOD Awards event on January 10, 2013; and ways to get involved with DEF, such as its new UBUNTU Retailer Partner Program that helps independent retailers with marketing support to launch their own local ‘diamonds for good’ campaign featuring product from DEF’s line of empowerment jewelry.

Separately, DEF announced on Wednesday that the third honoree for its second annual GOOD Awards will be Noella Coursaris Musunka, left, international model and founder of the Georges Malaika Foundation. Together with global luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. and Leo Schachter Diamonds, she will be honored for her humanitarian efforts in helping provide education in Africa.

Musunka, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), will be presented the GOOD Award for her outstanding leadership and contributions to educate and empower young girls in the Congo to lift themselves out of poverty through the Georges Malaika Foundation that she established in 2006. In her fashion career, she has graced the covers and editorial pages of Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, Essence, GQ, and Esquire, to name just a few, while in her humanitarian role she has been featured in a 30-minute special on CNN’s African Voices and CNN Connect the World. She has also addressed UNICEF and the Congolese Parliament about issues confronting underprivileged girls and, most recently, addressed the 2012 Opening Plenary of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.

The GOOD Awards event is set for January 10 at Lavo in New York City. There will be a musical performance by Grammy-Award winning artist Estelle with renowned DJ M.O.S. providing music throughout the evening.

GIA Opens Gem Laboratory in Japan

Carlsbad, CA—GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is now offering diamond-grading services in Tokyo.  GIA’s ninth global laboratory brings industry-leading diamond grading to Japan, one of the world’s largest markets for gems and jewelry.

The new lab began accepting diamonds for grading directly from clients as of December 3. It will initially offer Diamond Dossier and Diamond Grading Report services for D to Z diamonds up to 2.99 cts., and also will take in colored stones and pearls for any other GIA services. At present, non-diamond gems will be sent to another GIA global lab and returned to Tokyo for pick-up, but  GIA plans to expand the menu of services offered by its Tokyo facility soon.

Anyone interested in using GIA laboratory services in Japan should call +81-3-5812-3215 or fax +81-3-3836-3280.

Luxury Shoppers More Likely To Be Blue

New York, NY--A just released study by Experian Simmons and reported in the Wall Street Journal shows that not only do Democrats and Republicans vote differently, they also shop differently.

What may surprise luxury-market pundits, who generally associate affluent consumers with the Republican party, is that Democrats are far more likely to be luxury shoppers than Republicans. In the Experian data of 100 retailers, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to shop at luxury (or aspirational luxury) stores like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks, Bloomingdales, Burberry, Crate & Barrel, and Lord & Taylor, while Republicans were more likely than Democrats to shop at Wal-Mart, Michaels and A.C. Moore craft stores, JC Penney, Kohls, and Old Navy.

Democrats were also more likely to shop at trendy, style-driven stores like Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic, H&M, IKEA, West Elm, and Sephora, while Republicans were more likely to shop at more conservative or preppy mid-priced fashion stores like Christopher & Banks, Chico's, Coldwater Creek, Ann Taylor, Talbots, or Vera Bradley. But Democrats do their fair share of bargain-hunting, too--they skewed higher for shopping at off-price Nordstrom Rack, Saks, Loehmann's, and Marshalls than did Republicans, and they also favored discounters like Family Dollar and Kmart. But Republicans may be more inclined to be fancy foodies--they outscored Democrats by 83 points in their preference for shopping at pricey kitchen outfitter Williams-Sonoma, as well as its upscale Williams-Sonoma Home division and its mid-market Pottery Barn division. They also frequent Costco and Target more than their Democrat counterparts.

When it comes to jewelry shopping, Democrats go to Zale, Republicans go to Kay. The study didn't include Tiffany, Tourneau, or any other luxury chain, nor did it offer an option for independent jewelers to be mentioned.

But the study should not come as a complete surprise, as it reflects the national political demographic map: most luxury retailers are centered in urban and suburban areas that also have a greater concentration of Democrats, while rural or less-populated areas tend to have more Republicans but fewer options for upscale shopping.