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Industry News: Destiny’s Child Star To Headline D.E.F. Gala; PGI Names Marketing Director; More May 06, 2015 (0 comments)
Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child To Headline D.E.F. Las Vegas Gala
New York, NY—Kelly Rowland (left), the Grammy Award-winning artist who rocketed to fame as part of Destiny’s Child, will headline the Diamond Empowerment Fund’s Diamonds In The Sky Las Vegas gala on May 28 at the Four Seasons Ballroom in Las Vegas.
The star-studded event will salute Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of the Republic of India for their progress towards national sustainability and the advancement of the diamond industry.
An accomplished singer, songwriter, and actress, Rowland elevated pop R&B to stratospheric heights as a member of Destiny’s Child, one of the best-selling groups of all time. She’s been honored with five Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 15 Soul Tran Awards, 4 American Music Awards, 2 MTV Video Music Awards, 1 BRIT Award, 1 BET Award, 1 NAACP Image Award, a Star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame”, and more.
She has starred in numerous television shows and feature films, including American Dreams, The Fashion Show alongside style icon Isaac Mizrahi, and as a judge on The X Factor UK. Rowland was also honored as one of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful People in the World” in 2013, and has acted as a spokesperson for companies TW Steel and Caress, amongst others.
Rowland is no stranger to giving back. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Rowland co-founded the Survivor Foundation with Beyoncé Knowles, her former Destiny’s Child bandmate, in order to provide interim housing for victims and storm evacuees in the Houston, TX area. To this day, Rowland still donates her old clothing to her local church in Houston.
In 2006, Rowland was featured along with other artists in ads for the ALDO Fights AIDS Campaign; and in 2008, she became a global ambassador for MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation, which fights HIV through youth education campaigns worldwide. In 2010, Rowland helped establish her own charity, I Heart My Girlfriends, which focuses on the comprehensive empowerment of women and girls.
“We are thrilled to have such an enormous and big-hearted talent on board,” says Diamond Empowerment Fund board president Phyllis Bergman, CEO of Mercury Ring. “It is so important to us to show how diamonds do good globally; and Ms. Rowland’s strong commitment to giving back is an inspiration and a testament to that message.”
Premier Presenting Sponsors of the event include Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited, the De Beers Group of Companies, Rio Tinto, and Signet Jewelers Ltd. Partner and Patron Sponsors are Rosy Blue Group and Le Vian Group, respectively.
Meg Deedy appointed Director of Marketing of Platinum Guild International USA
New York, NY—PGI USA announces the appointment of Meg Deedy as director of marketing. Deedy will oversee all digital media, social media and public relations strategies and programs.
Deedy is a seasoned digital agency lead with more than 10 years’ experience in the United States and abroad with agencies like agency.com, TracyLocke, MRM/McCann New York and MRM/McCann Singapore. She has crafted and led both integrated and strictly social (paid, owned, earned) campaigns across a diverse range of verticals, including financial services, auto, CPG, beverage and retail. Deedy leveraged her knowledge of analytics, social listening, and brand development to drive measurable results for the MasterCard "Priceless" campaign, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Heineken, and CVS/pharmacy, to name a few. She most recently led the social media practice for TD Ameritrade at Havas Worldwide in New York.
PGI USA president Jenny Luker says, “We are thrilled to welcome Meg to the team and value the experience and expertise that she brings with her. Meg will be a driving force in implementing new and impactful initiatives for PGI and we look forward to a bright future for platinum.”
“I am so excited and humbled to be part of the PGI team and drive platinum forward with our partners and for our audience,” says Deedy. “Every day, digital and social networks are advancing to better connect consumers with each other, brands and retailers. These innovative platforms provide the perfect opportunity for platinum to expand the conversation and connect the right message to the right audience at the right time. “
American Gem Society Announces 2015 Board of Directors
New Orleans, LA—The American Gem Society announced the list of its 2015 - 2016 board of directors during its Annual Conclave. They are: President, Louis Smith, CG; president-elect, Scott Berg, CG; secretary and chair of the Conclave sub-committee, John Carter, CGA; treasurer, Kelly Kinas; chair, International Guilds Council, Laura Stanley, CGA; chair, Gemological Sciences committee, Michael Richards, CG; chair, education and Young Titleholders’ committee, Lisa Bridge, CG; chair, marketing committee, Michael Wilson, CG; chair, membership and GR committee, Kelly Newton, CGA; chair, AGS Lab Advisory committee, Clayton Bromberg, CG. Directors at large: Beryl Raff, Yancy Weinrich, Frank Brown, RJ, Scott Udell, and Stewart Wicht.
The Board also added two new members. Georgie Gleim, CG, is the new senior advisor to the board and Ronnie VanderLinden has been appointed as a director at large.
Bill Sites, CG, retired as senior advisor, while Charlie Rosario finished his term as director at large. Additionally, Charles Lacy, Emeritus Registered Jeweler, was recognized for his years of service to the AGS Laboratories Board of Managers.
Gems & Gemology Explores a World of Colored Gems
Carlsbad, CA—The first Gems & Gemology (G&G) issue of 2015 takes a journey around the world to review Vietnamese blue spinel, Moroccan amethyst, Mozambique ruby, contemporary Chinese jewelry designs and the Tucson gem shows. The Spring 2015 issue of G&G, GIA’s quarterly professional journal, is now available in print, and online with exclusive video content.
G&G’s cover story is “Blue Spinel from the Luc Yen District of Vietnam,” by French researcher Boris Chauviré and coauthors. The article offers geological context and a gemological characterization of the vivid blue spinel found in Luc Yen, northern Vietnam, which owes its remarkable color to traces of cobalt.
Next is “The Chinese Soul in Contemporary Jewelry Design.” GIA’s Andrew Lucas, Merilee Chapin, Moqing Lin and Xiaodan Jia survey the notable progress China’s jewelry designers have made over the last decade. Influenced by their cultural roots and driven by the rapidly growing domestic consumer market, the artistic prowess of Chinese designers is increasingly evident on the global stage.
Another feature by a joint Moroccan-Italian team headed by Fabrizio Troilo provides an introduction to amethysts from Boudi, Morocco. The study outlines the geology, mining, and the internal and external features of this attractive material. The fourth and final peer-reviewed article, by GIA researchers Dr. James Shigley and Dr. Mike Breeding, reviews colored diamond spectra, including an exclusive and informative foldout chart.
In a field report, GIA authors Merilee Chapin, Vincent Pardieu and Andrew Lucas report on the geology and mining practices at Mozambique’s Montepuez ruby deposit, currently the world’s most important commercial source of ruby.
The issue also contains in-depth coverage of the February 2015 Tucson Gem and Mineral shows, as well as reports on the recent Gemstone Industry & Laboratory Conference (GILC) and the GIA-sponsored International Diamond School for natural diamond researchers held late January in Brixen, Italy. Additional details about G&G, full articles, more in-depth coverage, hundreds of additional photos, and exclusive video footage are available on GIA’s website here.
Peter Cheng, Chairman of Chow Tai Fook Foundation, Joins Board of World Diamond Mark Foundation
Hong Kong—Peter (Kar Shing) Cheng, chairman of the Chow Tai Fook Foundation and a director of the eponymous firm, the world's largest retail jewellery chain, has joined the board of the World Diamond Mark Foundation (WDMF). WDMF is the all-industry organization that seeks to assist retail jewelers worldwide in promoting diamonds and diamond jewelry to consumers.
Cheng's place on the WDM board signifies the enormous importance the Asian downstream market places on the need for generic promotion and advertising of diamonds.
"We acknowledge Mr. Cheng and the Chow Tai Fook company for substantiating his ongoing commitment to the World Diamond Mark," said Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and WDMF vice chairman. "We look forward to Mr. Cheng's contribution, in particular to his insights into the diamond jewellery consumer market in greater China," Blom stated.
Peter Cheng (third from left) with Angela Yeung, WDMF secretary-general; Ernest Blom; Suresh Hathiramani, WDM board member and immediate past president of the Diamond Exchange of Singapore; K.K Yeung, WDM strategic counsel; Rami Baron, WDM board member and president of the Diamond Dealers Club of Australia; and Alex Popov, WDMF chairman.
Summer International Diamond Week in Israel Dates Set
Ramat Gan, Israel—The summer edition of International Diamond Week in Israel (IDWI) will be August 30-September 3, 2015 in the IDE's trading halls. The IDE is holding the event a few weeks prior to the major gem and jewelry trade shows in Asia, enabling traders and wholesalers to purchase and prepare goods for the Fall shows in Bangkok, Shenzen and Hong Kong.
"These semi-annual diamond trading weeks have proven to be great networking events and a very effective sales platform for visiting buyers, as well as the local members," explained Israel Diamond Exchange President Shmuel Schnitzer. "As we continue to stage these low-cost, low-threshold events, we are offering all our members, no matter the size or volume of their businesses, an opportunity to meet international buyers, network and develop new business contacts."