Articles and News
Industry News From Jewelers For Children, Diamond Empowerment Fund, More September 30, 2015 (0 comments)
Jewelers for Children Unveils 2015 Holiday Program With Art From Children
New York, NY—Jewelers for Children has unveiled its 2015 Hope for the Holidays program, including holiday greeting cards, an honor donation program, and contribution cards and inserts. All elements of the program were created from artwork created by children representing JFC’s charity partners.
This year’s program features three holiday card designs drawn by children representing Make-A-Wish® America and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. One example is shown at left.
In lieu of traditional holiday greetings, members of the jewelry industry can send holiday cards showing their support for the charity. There are also contribution recognition cards that can be purchased with a donation to JFC and sent to special contacts on everyone’s holiday list. Contribution card inserts are available as an option for use with any holiday card.
Honor donation programs are conducted by a number of companies in the industry who send letters to their customers and suppliers asking that in lieu of holiday gifts, a donation be made in their honor to JFC. The honor donation program can be used by anyone in the industry; JFC provides suggested language for a letter and customized donation forms.
Information on purchasing holiday cards, contribution cards and inserts, and the honor donation program can be found on the JFC website or by calling (212) 687-2949.
Diamond Empowerment Fund Awards $122,500 To African Leadership Academy
New York, NY—The Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.) presented a check for $122,500 to support the next generation of leaders in Africa through access to higher education. The check was presented to ALA co-founders Fred Swaniker and Chris Bradford, on the eve of the African Leadership Academy’s Student Indaba held in New York City. Also on hand to receive D.E.F.’s donation was Graça Machel Mandela, former first lady of both Mozambique and South Africa.
Machel participated in an energetic discussion with guests and African Leadership Academy (ALA) alumni, focusing on preserving the African identity, addressing pressing social issues, and motivating the next generation of Africans towards significant and lasting change on the continent.
ALA, located in Johannesburg, South Africa, cultivates outstanding young students through a two-year program to prepare them for college. It stresses leadership, entrepreneurship, and African studies. Students return to their home countries after college graduation to apply what they’ve learned to building and improving their own communities.
The following day D.E.F. attended ALA’s regional indaba, a student-led day of sessions for ALA graduates, held at New York City’s Barnard College. Says D.E.F president Phyllis Bergman, CEO of Mercury Ring, "These bright young students are a shining example of Africa’s future. D.E.F is proud to support these emerging leaders who represent our ‘Diamonds Do Good’ mission of supporting transformative initiatives in global diamond communities.”
Left to right: Chris Bradford, co-founder, African Leadership Academy; Phyllis Bergman, president Diamond Empowerment Fund board, CEO Mercury Ring; Graça Machel, founder, Graça Machel Trust; Dr. Benjamin Chavis, co-founder, Diamond Empowerment Fund; Nicola Breytenbach-Steiner, actress and philanthropist and board member and Angel Ambassador for Diamond Empowerment Fund; Nancy Orem Lyman, executive director, Diamond Empowerment Fund; and Fred Swaniker, co-founder, African Leadership Academy
CIBJO Joins Support Of Jewelry Industry Summit
New York, NY—CIBJO The World Jewelry Confederation announced both its financial support and its intent to urge its members to fully participate in the Jewelry Industry Summit, scheduled for March 10-13, 2016 at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO said, “CIBJO’s mission is fully aligned with the goals of the Jewelry Industry Summit. Engaging in responsible sourcing is a basic and universal value for all CIBJO members and this summit presents a rare opportunity for every sector to work together to create actions for all businesses to sustain the supply chain and ensure the success of our businesses in the 21st century. CIBJO will do everything it can to ensure that the summit is a success.”
Summit attendees will gain free entry to the JA/NY trade show, March 13-15, via their registration at the summit.
Richline Partners With Jewelry Industry Leaders To Fight Against Wildlife Trafficking
New York, NY—Richline Group Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is joining forces with jewelry industry leading organizations - including Ethical Metalsmiths, MJSA, JVC, Fair Trade Jewellery, Rio Grande, FJATA, Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Networks, and Jewelers of America, to fight wildlife trafficking as part of its ongoing Richline Responsible initiative.
In addition to the company’s steadfast stance against the use of illegally acquired wildlife and wildlife products, Richline is now leading an initiative featuring a new campaign that seeks to diminish both supply and demand for these products throughout the industry. The campaign, which will appear in industry trade publications, seeks to raise awareness of the wildlife trafficking crisis in support of President Obama’s newly formed U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance.
The new campaign states, “it is the jewelry industry’s responsibility to comply with US and international laws with the goal of conserving wildlife and their habitat. Through our associations, members have implemented best practices that seek to eliminate the supply, and the demand for illegal wildlife products in our industry. We will continue to do so by working to keep illegal wildlife products out of our supply chains, and by educating our customers about the devastating impacts caused by the purchase of illegally trafficked wildlife products. We also encourage all member companies to make additional, voluntary commitments to protect, and to draw attention to threatened species that are being poached for commercial sale.”
Richline chief marketing officer Mark Hanna said, “We immediately connected with the goals, and the mission, of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance. There is much that we will need to do as an industry to combat this crisis, but the first need is clear: we must raise awareness throughout the jewelry industry in order to diminish demand. We felt it was our responsibility to help spread the word, and we are thrilled to see that so many key industry organizations are willing to
get involved.”
Christie’s To Offer Largest Pink Ever Sold At Auction
Geneva, Switzerland—Christie’s International will offer the largest Fancy Vivid Pink diamond to be offered for sale at auction. The 16.08-ct. cushion-shaped stone is estimated at U.S. $23-28 million, and will be featured in Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction on November 10 in Geneva.
The diamond is set as a ring, with a double row white pavé-set diamonds surrounding and highlighting the main stone, with a third row of small pink diamonds underneath. The band is comprised of small circular-cut white diamonds set in platinum. The piece will tour Christie’s locations around the world in October, starting with Hong Kong, and continuing on to New York and London prior to the exhibition and sale in Geneva.
While most pink diamonds exhibit a color modifier like purple, orange, brown or grey, this stone shows no trace of a secondary color, making it exceedingly rare and attractive, says Christie’s. The stone’s even color distribution, combined with a balanced saturation and tone and straight pink hue, qualify it for a ‘Fancy Vivid’ color grading from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Only one in one hundred thousand diamonds possesses a color deep enough to qualify. In the Fancy Vivid pink range, diamonds of even five or six carats are rarely encountered and those over 10 carats are almost unheard of. In almost 250 years of auction history, only three pure vivid pink diamonds of over ten carats have appeared for sale.
Media Nominees For Gem Awards Named
New York, NY—Jewelers of America (JA) has announced the GEM Award nominees in the categories of Media Excellence, which recognizes consistent excellence in quality of reporting on fine jewelry and watches. The winner will be announced live during the GEM Awards ceremony on Friday, January 8, 2016.
The nominees are: Kyle Anderson, market and accessories director of Marie Claire magazine; Rob Bates, news director of JCK magazine; and Rachel Garrahan, a freelance journalist specializing in jewelry and watches whose work has been featured in the Financial Times, The New York Times, T Magazine, The Jewellery Editor and Condé Nast Traveller, among others.