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Industry News: ICA Honors Menzie, GIA Career Fair NY Set For July 29, Rio Tinto Auction, More July 10, 2013 (0 comments)
Menzie Honored For Outstanding Service To Colored Gem Industry
Changsha, China—Joseph M. Menzie (left) was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) at the organization’s biennial congress in May.
The award recognizes individuals who have devoted their time and energy in making significant contributions towards developing the global gemstone industry.
Menzie, who began his career at his grandfather’s company, Charles F. Winson, served for 16 years on the ICA board of directors, including as vice president, and two terms as president from 2003-2007. During his tenure, ICA expanded its reach into emerging consumer markets such as Russia, Korea, and started the initiatives in China in 2003. Working with government bodies, Menzie brought the message about gemstones into other markets, including Dubai, where the ICA held its most successful congress in its history in 2007.
As president, he spearheaded developments of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with an emphasis on assisting children in impoverished areas where gemstone deposits occur. Projects included computers for a school system in Muzo, Colombia, followed by a J/V with the government of Governado Valaderes, Brazil to provide assistance to a home for disadvantaged children. Menzie supported campaigns to rebuild houses for those displaced by the tsunami in Sri Lanka, and led initiatives in Kenya and Tanzania to provide much needed support to schools in mining areas. Several of the CSR initiatives were tied to mine tours and as a result, participation from organizations such as the Gemological Institute of America, led to modification of their educational programs to reflect the hands-on experience gained through the ICA tours.
At Menzie’s recommendation, members of trade and consumer press, as well as laboratories, were invited to participate in these mine tours. He has long been a proponent of including consumer press in this process, bringing the allure of gemstones—along with education—to a greater audience.
Among Menzie’s achievements is the influence of the ICA website with information provided on colored gemstones for both retailers and the consuming market. He saw this as a weak link in the chain of gemstone promotion, and created multiple translations for the “Gem by Gem” section for educational endeavors. HIs influence can be seen in the way many other organizations have embraced consumers in their education and promotional activities.
Under his leadership, ICA launched InColor magazine with former ICA executive director Barbara Wheat. Menzie believed that with the vast amount of knowledge available to the association through its network of members in 47 countries, a publication produced by the ICA devoted to colored gemstones would be a valuable asset to the industry.
Menzie also is founder and past president of the New York Jewelers Group, a think tank of approximately 55 New York City-based wholesalers, dealers, and distributors covering all sectors of jewelry industry.
GIA New York Jewelry Career Fair Set For July 29
New York, NY—GIA (Gemological Institute of America) will again host its annual Jewelry Career Fair on July 29 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. The event is free for job seekers and open to the public; anyone interested in attending is urged to RSVP prior to the event.
Susan Jacques, chair of the GIA board of governors, will moderate a panel discussion titled “Job Success in Today’s Market,” featuring GIA graduates and industry leaders. The panel will include Alan Bronstein of Aurora Gems, David Gardner of David Gardner's Jewelers in Texas and president of the American Gem Society, Daria de Koning of Daria de Koning Fine Jewelry, Martin Rapaport, chairman of Rapaport, and Joel Schechter, CEO of Honora, who will discuss their careers in the industry and offer practical advice for those starting a new or second career in the jewelry industry.
Aspiring jewelry professionals – including those in retail, design and manufacturing – will also be able to meet with job recruiters and spend one-on-one time with volunteer career-coaches.
“The GIA Career Fair was a great resource for me; in the course of one day I met my current employer and made lasting industry contacts,” said Alison Daley, a former GIA student now working at the New York Loan Company. “I currently live in New York and work in the famed Diamond District on 47th Street, and I owe much of that to GIA. I highly encourage students and job seekers to make the most of GIA’s Career Fair. You never know where it can lead you.”
Career Fair will take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 29 at the Javits Center. Recruiting will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is sponsored by JA New York. For more information, visit www.careerfair.gia.edu, call (800) 421-7250, ext. 4100, or email careerfair@gia.edu.
Career Fair began in 1991 in Santa Monica, CA, and has since then held more than 40 events in India, Las Vegas, New York, and at GIA headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif. The next GIA Carlsbad Jewelry Career Fair will take place on Friday, Oct. 11.
Follow @GIANews #JewelryJobs for updates.
Rio Tinto to Hold Viewing for Auction of Diavik Rough at Israel Diamond Week
Ramat Gan, Israel—Rio Tinto Diamonds will hold a viewing for one of its rough diamond auctions in Israel, during the summer edition of the US & International Diamond Week, set for August 26-29.
"This is good news," Yair Sahar, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE). "We certainly hope this will be a first out of many future cooperative initiatives between Rio Tinto Diamonds and the Israeli diamond industry and trade."
In a media release. Rio Tinto wrote that its decision to conduct viewings in Israel is an endorsement of the strength of the Israel diamond market. Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales for Rio Tinto, said, "This is a unique opportunity to engage with the Israeli diamond industry and increase the understanding, awareness and visibility of the unique Diavik production and Rio Tinto Diamonds' sales processes." Diavik diamonds are particularly well suited to Israeli manufacturers, said Sahar.
Companies who wish to participate or schedule a viewing appointment in Ramat Gan should email auctionsales@riotinto.com or call +320-3-3036815. Click here for more information and to register.
Conference: Female Diamantaires Must Lean In To Push Advancement
Ramat Gan, Israel—Even as Lean In, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book about advancing women in business remains a best seller, the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) held the first-ever conference dedicated to advancing women in the male-dominated diamond trade. The majority of the female members of the Exchange took part in the late June event, addressing ways to advance the status of female members of the bourse. 250 of the IDE’s 3,200 members are women.
Participants heard presentations by Varda Shine, senior vice-president of the De Beers Group; Vered Peer Swaid, head of the Authority for the Advancement of Women in Israel; and diamantaires Orit Zikri and Nurit Rotman.
"This conference will go down as a milestone in the history of the diamond bourse," said IDE president Yair Sahar, dedicating his initial short remarks to his mother, a housewife who, due to the illness of her husband was forced overnight to become the family’s main breadwinner.
Sahar said: "There are amazing women at the exchange doing business worth millions of dollars. There is no reason why women they should not lead and serve as bourse president or deputy president." He told participants about a 22-year-old woman who came to check his business when he was starting out as a diamantaire.
"That woman, Varda Shine, broke through the glass ceiling and today is a senior vice-president of De Beers," Sahar noted.
Shine said that when she began working in the diamond industry 30 years ago, it was dominated by men, but today women occupy leading positions and bring their ability to look differently at the business world.
"There is no reason to try and act like men. Men are better at being men than we are. We need to be different," she said, as she encouraged women to set out their paths and make their aims a reality.
Vered Peer Swaid, head of the Authority for the Advancement of Women in Israel and the daughter of a diamantaire from Netanya, spoke about the issues that keep women from getting ahead, including disparities in both career opportunities, advancement, and salary.
Female diamantaires face many of the issues discussed in Sheryl Sandberg's famous book about women leaders--including feeling relegated to a corner and the fear that they don't deserve what they've truly earned.
"In school, they teach us important things but not about relationships or parenting. Women fall victim to romance without understanding a thing about equality or about planning a career," she said, ending her comments by calling on women to do their part in bringing about change in this modern era.
Meanwhile, IDE member Orit Zikri said that when the market is declining, women are the first to suffer, since many diamantaires prefer in those situations to give goods for sale to male rather than female brokers, assuming the women are the secondary breadwinners in their families. She and fellow diamantaire Nurit Rotman called on women not to capitulate to the external factors that restrain them, in essence telling them to “lean in,” as author Sandberg does.
"Dear friends, let us release ourselves from fear and head forward," said Zikri.
Rotman, a regular columnist in HaYahalom magazine, added, "Nobody advances if they just sit in the corner of the room and no one gets ahead if they think they don't deserve it."