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Industry News From D.E.F., AGS And Jewelers For Children, World Diamond Council, More October 07, 2015 (0 comments)
D.E.F. Awards $122,500 To Botswana Top Achievers Program
New York, NY—The Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.) presented a check for $122,500 to support Batswana youth through access to higher education so they can help contribute to the economic development and diversification of Botswana.
The check was presented October 1 to the Botswana Delegation in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, including newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the U.S., H.E. Mr. David John Newman, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Charles Thembani Ntwaagai, and Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, Honorable Ms. Pelonomi Venson-Moiroi, at a dinner reception honoring the Vice-President of Botswana, His Excellency Mr. Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Botswana is one of the top producers of diamonds by carat weight and value in the world. It is also a shining model of the positive impact diamonds have on communities when good governance is combined with good corporate social responsibility and best business practices from the private sector and government.
Minister of Education for Botswana Honorable Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, as a way to achieve Botswana’s vision to be an educated and informed nation, started the Top Achievers Program in 2010.
Venson-Moitoi said, “Without diamonds, we would not be here today. Without our youth, we would not have a future that is as bright as it is today. With the partnership of the Diamond Empowerment Fund, we are truly blessed.”
“Botswana represents all the good that diamonds can do,” added D.E.F. co-founder Dr. Benjamin Chavis. “The Diamond Empowerment Fund is proud to support Botswana’s future by helping empower its youth and looks forward to helping the country celebrate its 50th year of independence in 2016.”
Left to right: Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations for Botswana, H.E. Charles Thembani Ntwaagai, Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, Honorable Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana H.E. Mokgweetsi Masisi, D.E.F Co-Founder Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President of D.E.F’s board of directors and CEO Mercury Ring, Phyllis Bergman, D.E.F Executive Director Nancy Orem Lyman, Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the U.S., H.E. David John Newman. Photo: Terri Diamond Photography
AGS Nominates The Children’s Heart Foundation For $10,000 Grant From Jewelers For Children
Las Vegas, NV—The American Gem Society (AGS) has nominated the Children’s Heart Foundation for the Jewelers for Children (JFC) Local Grant Program. The recently launched Local Grant Program has set aside $100,000 to fund ten $10,000 grants for local children’s charities around the country. Jewelers had the opportunity to nominate their favorite local children’s charity, with public voting on the Jewelers for Children Facebook page to determine the top ten vote-getters to receive the grants.
“We are pleased to participate in the third year of this exciting program from Jewelers for Children!” says Ruth Batson, CEO of AGS and AGS Laboratories. “It is such an easy way to help support the excellent work the Children’s Heart Foundation does locally to improve the quality of life for the children of our community. Now, we’re trying to get the word out to the public to vote so the Children’s Heart Foundation receives one of these generous grants.”
Voting is simple and can be done once per day. Individuals wishing to participate can go the Jewelers for Children Facebook page anytime from October 5-18, click on the Children’s Heart Foundation from among the nominees; then encourage others to visit the page and vote too.
AlAll the charities nominated by jewelers and jewelry industry organizations are listed under “Local Grants Program” on the JFC Facebook page.
Separately, Terry Chandler, president of the Diamond Council of America, has announced his support for the Something For Kelly Foundation, which works with young people to prevent them from falling victim to eating disorders.
World Diamond Council Issues Response to Amnesty International Report
New York, NY—The World Diamond Council (WDC) has issued a statement in response to the recently published report by Amnesty International focusing on the global diamond supply chain and the Central African Republic.
In its report, Amnesty International said The Central African Republic’s (CAR) biggest traders have purchased diamonds worth several million dollars without adequately investigating whether they financed armed groups responsible for summary executions, rape, enforced disappearances and widespread looting.
Based on interviews with miners and traders, the Amnesty International report details how armed groups—the Christian or animist anti-balaka and predominantly Muslim Séléka—both profit from the diamond trade by controlling mine sites and “taxing” or extorting “protection” money from miners and traders.
“If companies have bought blood diamonds, they must not be allowed to profit from them,” said Lucy Graham, legal advisor in Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights Team.
“The government should confiscate any blood diamonds, sell them and use the money for the public benefit. The people of CAR have a right to profit from their own natural resources. As the country seeks to rebuild, it needs its diamonds to be a blessing, not a curse.”
In its statement, the WDC urges Amnesty International to engage with the Kimberley Process (KP) and work together with the KP participating governments, the industry, and the Civil Society Coalition of the KP to achieve the goal of zero conflict in the rough diamond supply chain.
Here is the full text of the WDC statement:
“As the representative organization of the global diamond and jewelry industry at the Kimberley Process, the World Diamond Council (WDC) is the first to agree that there is more work to be done when it comes to managing the global diamond supply chain. While the vast majority of diamonds contribute a significant benefit to the countries in which they’re produced, as an industry we are committed to staying the course until we reach the goal of zero conflict diamonds.
We welcome the recommendations in the Amnesty International report and are working together as an industry in full support of the goal of zero conflict. In addition, governments must assert their control in mining areas and along their borders to prevent smuggling.
However, the Amnesty International report ignores the careful and conscientious framework being put in place in CAR. Interim arrangements regarding future CAR diamond exports and green export zones have been approved by the Kimberley Process and the Civil Society Coalition of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, who have in addition commissioned an outside company to audit the stockpile.
We also applaud the Antwerp Diamond Office's strict control mechanism for each import or export of diamonds. Their close monitoring led to the interception and seizure in 2014 of two shipments containing rough diamonds from the Central African Republic. This is an example of our members' commitment to ensuring the integrity of the industry.
Amnesty International has been a member of the Civil Society Coalition of the Kimberley Process in the past. We invite them to participate by re-engaging with the Civil Society Coalition. We will continue to encourage the industry, governments, the UN, and NGOs to work together to improve the Kimberley Process and the international monitoring of the process, so that the goal of zero conflict diamonds can be achieved.”
For more information, see the World Diamond Council website.
Journalist Joe Thompson To Be Honored At GEM Awards
New York, NY--Joe Thompson, editor-in-chief of WatchTime, the leading consumer magazine for watch aficionados, will be the recipient of the GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 14th annual Jewelers of America (JA) GEM Awards on January 8, in New York.
The GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement is granted to an individual for an accumulated career’s worth of contributions to the fine jewelry and watch industry. Honorees set a standard of excellence that serves as an inspiration to industry colleagues.
Thompson is considered one of the watch industry’s most knowledgeable observers. His career spans more than four decades, beginning in 1977 at Jewelers Circular-Keystone (now JCK) magazine, then Modern Jeweler magazine as editor-in-chief in 1982. In 1996, Thompson became the founding editor of American Time magazine to focus exclusively on watch reporting. In 2000, he joined New York-based WatchTime. Under his leadership, WatchTime has developed an outstanding global influence and has been described as “the gold standard in international specialist watch magazines . . . arguably the most influential watch magazine in the world.”
“As both chairman of the GEM Awards and from knowing Joe for more than 30 years, I couldn’t be more thrilled with the GEM Award Committee’s choice of Joe Thompson as our Lifetime Achievement Award Winner,” says Norman Miller, EVP/publisher of Elite Traveler. “Joe has been a mentor to me since I began at National Jeweler magazine in 1980 and embodies the spirit of what this award is about. His career has been dedicated to illuminating the fascinating business of our industry.”
For details on GEM Award nominees and to purchase tickets and sponsorship packages, visit www.jewelers.org/gemawards.
CIBJO Releases Blue Book On Coral
Milan, Italy—CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has released its latest online Blue Book, delineating acceptable trade practices and nomenclature for the coral industry and trade. The document was compiled by the CIBJO Coral Commission.
The new Blue Book is comprehensive, classifying both non-treated and treated corals, and also artificial products that imitate and/or include coral elements. Normative terms that should be used to describe coral and disclose treatments are listed, as is the terminology that should be applied to define associated artificial products. Methods of maintaining the quality of coral jewelry are provided and the various types of different precious coral species are itemized.
Because of the unique nature of coral, an organism grown in nature without human intervention, the Coral Book includes reference to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), established in 1975 to address concerns that many living species were becoming endangered because of commerce. The document also outlines national and regional regulations promoting the sustainable harvesting of coral.
The Coral Book is the sixth in the Blue Book series, and joins the definitive sets of grading standards and nomenclature for diamonds, gemstones, pearls, precious metals, and gemological laboratories. Click here to access all titles.
"The Coral Blue Book is an additional tool developed by CIBJO to ensure ethical business practices and transparency in the jewelry business," said Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO president. "It focuses on a sector that operates in a very fragile eco-environment, where proper standards and methods of operation are absolutely essential."
Click here to download the Coral Book from the CIBJO website.