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Industry News: JFC’s Local Grants Announced; DPA Taps Morrison To Promote Diamonds; More October 21, 2015 (0 comments)
Jewelers for Children Announces 2015 Local Grants Program Winners
New York, NY—10 local charities near and dear to jewelers’ hearts will receive $10,000 each as part of the 2015 Jewelers For Children Local Grants program. The “industry’s charity,” as JFC is known, set aside $100,000 from its 2015 fundraising efforts to be used for 10 grants of $10,000 each, made to local organizations. Industry members had the opportunity to nominate a local organization to receive one of these grants, and the winners were selected by a Facebook-based voting campaign from October 5-19. More than 15,000 visitors voted over the two-week period, and the winners are:
- American Family Children's Hospital, nominated by Goodman's Jewelers
- Camp Sunshine, nominated by Day's Jewelers
- Chris Lantos Foundation, nominated by Papazian Jewelry Designs
- Gio's Garden, nominated by Bauer Jewelry Designs
- Matthew's Giving Tree, nominated by Kay Cameron Jewelers
- Meeting Street School, nominated by Bee Chic Boutique
- Morrow Manor, nominated by Dahlquist's Fine Jewelry
- Pediatric Therapy Network, nominated by Daniel's Jewelers
- Something for Kelly, nominated by Cunningham Jewelry & Appraisal Services
- Songs of Love Foundation, nominated by Solomons Fine Jewelry
Jewelers for Children will send checks to the jewelers who nominated the winning charities so that they can present the money to their respective winning organizations. A sample media alert and press release will be included, helping the jeweler to garner local press for both themselves and the charity.
Diamond Producers Association Announces Board Leaders
New York, NY—The Diamond Producers Association (DPA), the fledgling organization that will work to rebuild consumer desire and demand for diamonds and diamond jewelry, has announced its first key leaders. Jean-Marc Lieberherr, managing director of Rio Tinto’s diamond business, has been named chairman and Stephen Lussier, CEO of De Beers’ Forevermark brand, has been named vice-chair.
Sally Morrison (above left) has been named managing director of marketing, effective October 19. She joins the DPA from the World Gold Council, where she most recently served as managing director of jewelry and marketing. Prior to joining the World Gold Council, Morrison gained deep expertise in diamond marketing through in a senior role at ad agency J. Walter Thompson on behalf of the De Beers Group. She also brings extensive experience from her earlier career in marketing in the entertainment industry. Morrison will be based in New York and will be responsible for all of the DPA’s marketing activities, including the appointment of an agency partner.
Lieberherr said, “Sally brings to the DPA impressive and in-depth experience of diamond marketing. Her knowledge of the sector and the wider luxury market will be invaluable as we look to enhance consumers’ desire for, and confidence in, diamonds.”
Said Morrison, “I’m delighted to join the Diamond Producers Association at its formation. The sector faces a number of challenges, but there are also a number of real opportunities. Most immediately we need to inspire and excite the Millennial consumer with the deep and meaningful sentiment that diamonds uniquely offer. The DPA will play a key role in unlocking the consumer insights that will inform how we best engage them with diamonds.”
The DPA will fill other key roles in the near future.
PGI Sponsors Webinar For Better Social Media Content
New York, NY—Platinum Guild International is sponsoring a webinar to help jewelers improve their social media for the holiday season. The webinar, titled How to Make your Content Count: Social Media Best Practices for this Holiday Season, will be presented by brand strategy consultant Zontee Hou. Participants will learn:
- What engaging content looks like
- How to reach your audience
- How to run a social campaign within a budget, and more
Registration is $12. The webinar will be presented November 4 at 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. EST. Click here to register.
PGI's webinar will help jewelers make their social media content better and more engaging to customers.
De Beers’ Lab Launches Melee Testing Service
London, UK—De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) will begin offering low-cost, high-volume melee testing services at its facilities in Surat, India, and Antwerp, Belgium. The service will be available in India starting October 26, and in Belgium beginning November 12. Diamantaires will have the opportunity to use IIDGR’s proprietary technology to verify the natural diamond content of parcels of melee before they are traded. Goods will be returned in sealed, tamper-proof IIDGR packages, with the content of each clearly labeled.
The new service seeks to address the issue of synthetic diamonds being passed off as naturals. On multiple occasions, grading laboratories around the world discovered parcels of melee that were marked natural but were heavily sprinkled with synthetics.
The melee testing service will be offered at an introductory discount in both India and Belgium for any parcels submitted before the end of 2015. Any business interested in using the service or finding out more about how it will work can contact IIDGR at testing@iidgr.com or visit www.iidgr.com.
Chow Tai Fook Sales Surge 4% in Q2
Hong Kong—Asian megabrand Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd. posted a 4% year-on-year increase in sales for the period of July to September (corresponding to Q3 in U.S. terms). According to an article in Jewellery News Asia, the jump was fueled by a surge in demand for gold as prices for the metal dropped beginning in mid-July. Business was strongest in China, says the article, with sales rising 9% in total and same-store sales growing 6%. But second-quarter and same-store sales dropped in both Hong Kong (-5%) and Macau (-13%) during the same period for the company.
Gold accounted for 57% of its total retail sales; gem-set jewelry for 26%. Read the full article here.
World Diamond Council Names Alrosa Exec As Vice President
Moscow, Russia—At its 11th annual general meeting, the World Diamond Council (WDC) named Andrey Polyakov as its vice president. Polyakov, also a vice president at Russian diamond miner Alrosa, fills the position left vacant by Andrew Bone’s retirement from De Beers and the WDC Board. Per the WDC bylaws, Polyakov will succeed Edward Asscher, current WDC president, at the end of his two-year-term in May 2016.
“I look forward to continuing to ensure the mandate of the WDC, which is to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the supply chain through the WDC’s role of representing the industry at the Kimberley Process,” said Polyakov.
Asscher added, “I am confident that the WDC will continue to lead the fight against conflict diamonds under the future strong leadership of Mr. Polyakov.”
Also at the meeting, Udi Sheintal, WDC corporate secretary, was named general counsel. He replaces Cecilia Gardner, who stepped down from the role in June. The meeting also focused on the upcoming Kimberley Process Plenary meeting in Luanda, Angola, next month. Members discussed the situation in the Central African Republic and the recently created KP Monitoring Team for that country. It was agreed that under no circumstances will the WDC accept that any conflict diamonds from CAR enter the rough diamond pipeline.