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Industry News: GIA Appoints Ops VP; Diamond Melee Prices Up; Conflict Gold Law Upheld; More April 23, 2014 (0 comments)
GIA Appoints Matt Crimmin as VP of Laboratory Operations
Carlsbad, CA—GIA (Gemological Institute of America) has appointed Matt Crimmin (left) as vice president of laboratory operations. Crimmin previously helped lead operational aspects of GIA’s international lab expansion from 2006 to 2009. Reporting to Tom Moses, executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer for GIA, Crimmin will oversee regional laboratory operations, focusing on Africa and the Middle East.
“As a member of our growing team, Matt Crimmin will help improve operations at GIA’s laboratories,” said Moses. “He made a significant contribution to the development of lab processes as GIA expanded, and has since gained experience in cross-functional management on a global scale. I’m confident that Matt will again make a significant contribution as we work to meet expanding demand for services while maintaining our quality standards.”
Crimmin returns to GIA from global consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. He holds a masters’ degree in business administration from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.
Rapaport: Melee Prices Up 5.4% in First Quarter
New York, NY—The Rapaport Melee Index (RMI) for small diamonds increased by 5.4% to 137.60 during the first quarter of 2014. Year on year, the index is up 1.9% from its March 2013 level.
The diamond market had a positive first quarter as polished prices firmed throughout the period. Polished demand was spurred by jewelers restocking after Christmas and the Chinese New Year. The March Hong Kong Jewellery Show demonstrated firm Far East demand with Chinese and Indian buyers back in the market. Trading activity is expected to stabilize in the second quarter now that wholesale and retail jewelers have replenished their inventories, and may restrain buying at current higher price points. Nevertheless, sentiment remains positive after a relatively strong first quarter.
“There was increased inter-dealer trading and market liquidity in the first quarter as dealers sought to source diamonds while prices continued to rise. Prices have stabilized over the last few weeks and we anticipate the market to remain steady going into the second quarter,” said Ezi Rapaport, director of global Ttrading for the Rapaport Group.
Sponsors In Line For JFC’s Second Rings of Strength Tour
Las Vegas, NV--Sponsors for the second edition of the Jewelers for Children Rings of Strength Tour have already stepped up to support the second installment of the event, which began last year. As of April 18, Tag Heuer, JCK Events, Rio Tinto Diamonds, Blue Nile, Brinks, The Harmon Group, Jewelry Creations, Coast Diamonds, Leo Schachter Diamonds, Malca-Amit, and Freeman all have signed on to sponsor the event, slated for May 29.
At the event, participants will have the opportunity to bike one of two different trails, run, walk, or do any variation they're comfortable with to finish the course.
There are two bicycle courses available. One is a 50K route that takes riders through the beautiful Red Rock Canyon with varying challenges and different altitudes. The second is a 15K route on surface roads in defined bike lanes. Cyclists may bring their own bicycles or rent one; everything from a standard road bike to a high performance mountain bike is available to rent.
Runners and walkers, meanwhile, will enjoy a leisurely 5K route that they can work at their own pace.
The event kicks off at 5:30 a.m. on May 29 to avoid the heat of the day. Rest stops along the route will ensure that everyone stays hydrated and energized to help raise funds for children in need.
Tag Heuer and JCK Events are major event sponsors; Rio Tinto Diamonds, Blue Nile, Leo Schachter Diamonds, Jewelry Creations, Brinks, and Malca-Amit have signed on to sponsor swag items and rest stops. The Harmon Group is handling all promotion for the event, including mailing materials and trade publication ads. Freeman, the official decorator at the JCK Show, will be donating all staging materials.
Participants can visit www.ringsofstrength.org to sign up and create their own unique fundraising page and URL, which can be forwarded to all of your friends and acquaintances to encourage them 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.
Dodd-Frank Update: Appeals Court Upholds Most of Conflict Minerals Law
Washington, DC—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week issued its opinion regarding a challenge to the Conflict Mineral law. In the appeal of National Association of Manufacturers, et al., v. Securities and Exchange Commission, NAM had challenged several aspects of the SEC’s disclosure rules implementing the conflict minerals provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Court rejected most of those claims, but held that requiring certain companies to publicly report that their products have “not been found to be ‘DRC Conflict-Free’” violates the First Amendment by unconstitutionally compelling speech. Companies are still required to disclose if the minerals are not guaranteed conflict-free, but they now may do so in language of their own choosing rather than use the specific terms previously required.
All other provisions of the rule remain in place. Public companies that file reports with the SEC must report about the origin of the conflict minerals they use, including gold. The other minerals are tin, tantalum, and tungsten. Companies covered by the law also must exercise due diligence regarding their supply chains if the conflict minerals they use may have originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country.
The case has been returned to the District Court for further proceedings. In the meantime, companies covered by the law must continue to prepare their SEC filings. Businesses in the supply chains of covered companies will continue to be called upon to provide information about mineral origin, and to implement responsible supply chain processes.
The Jewelers Vigilance Committee has published a summary of the main points of the court decision, available on the JVC website. Also available on the website is JVC’s Supply Chain Assurance Kit, designed to help suppliers of gold and tungsten implement assurance programs, and meet customer requirements regarding mineral origin and responsible supply chains.
Any questions on Dodd-Frank and conflict minerals can be directed to Suzan Flamm at suzan@jvclegal.org.
200+ Jewelers Attend Gemvision Design Symposium
Davenport, IA—Gemvision’s recently concluded Eighth Design Symposium featured two full days of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level training in a range of design topics including Matrix, CounterSketch Studio, Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), and Marketing. As an added bonus, the symposium attendees received a pre-release version of Matrix 8.
Gemvision founder Jeff High says, “We always learn something new about how customers are using our products to enhance their businesses. Essentially, they help shape the direction for our future endeavors.”
Gemvision also announced the winners of its annual Matrix Design Contest during the symposium’s awards dinner. Categories included Best Render, Overall Design, Countersketch Studio, Technical Merit, and Student.
Top winners were:
- Best In Show – Shinya Takahashi, Green Lake Jewelry Works
- Best Render, first place – Ilah Cibis, Precious Metals Sudbury
- Overall Design, first place – Brendan Theilman, Out of the Box Gold Store
- Technical Merit, first place – Chris Ritchie, Chris Ritchie Creations
- CounterSketch Studio, first place – Candice Todd, Warren Jewellers
Gemvision's Best in Show: the winning design by Shinya Takahashi, Green Lake Jewelry Works
To see more of the winners, click here.