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Industry News: JSA Seeks Diamond-Switching Thief; Three Retailers To Be Honored By WJA; More February 17, 2016 (0 comments)
JSA Offers $2,500 Reward In Two Cases
New York, NY—The Jewelers Security Alliance is offering up to a $2,500 monetary reward for information leading to the capture and arrest of the suspects in each of two separate jewelry theft cases.
The first took place February 1 in Smyrna, GA, where a white male suspect (left) is believed to have switched a two-carat diamond for a CZ. The white male suspect pictured below entered a retail jewelry store at 1:10 p.m. and stated he was looking for a two-carat diamond to be mounted for a ring for his fiancée. He spent two hours in the store but left without purchasing anything. He returned at 7:09 p.m. shortly after the store was officially closed, but was let in. While in the store at that time, the suspect was able to switch a 2.15-ct. diamond for a CZ. The suspect is described as 5’11” and 165-170 lbs. A suspect using the same name, “Mike Lynch,” was also reported to have been involved in possible attempts in Virginia in late December and early January, also seeking two-carat loose diamonds.
To see an excellent video of the suspect in Georgia, click here.
Separately, three suspects, two black males and a black female, are reported to have carried out jewelry thefts at two different retail stores in December in New York. In a theft on December 5, 2015 at 5:35 p.m. three black males entered a store, and while two blocked the view, one suspect pried open a display case with a tool and removed high end watches and bracelets amounting to $173,000. The suspects had cased the store on the day prior to the theft.
In another theft on December 2, 2015 at 7:10 p.m., the suspects entered and exited a store several times within ten minutes casing the store, and on the third visit used a tool to pry off a lock and latch and take a high-end watch from a showcase.
Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of these suspects is asked to call JSA on its Reward Hotline at 800-325-1883.
Three Retailers Chosen For WJA’s Top Honors
New York, NY—Sissy Jones of Sissy’s Log Cabin in Pine Bluff, AR, has been chosen to receive the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Jewelry Association during its annual Awards For Excellence dinner in July.
Sissy Jones, left; Peter Engel, right.
Jones will be joined by Peter Engel, president of Fred Meyer Jewelers (the Kroger Co.), who has been chosen as the recipient of the organization’s Ben Kaiser Award. This award is presented to a male in the jewelry industry who has demonstrated an outstanding record of advancing women’s careers.
Finally, the organization’s corporate award will be presented to Seattle, WA-based retail chain Ben Bridge; also for its commitment to the advancement of women’s careers in the jewelry industry.
Bridging generations: the Bridge family of Ben Bridge Jewelers
The WJA annual Awards For Excellence Gala will be held Monday, July 25 at the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center in New York City.
GIA to Offer Scholarships, Totaling More than $500,000
Carlsbad, CA—Applications open March 1 for more than 125 Gemological Institute of America (GIA) scholarships, totaling more than $500,000, for the Institute’s Gemology and Jewelry Manufacturing Arts programs, courses and lab classes. The scholarship application period runs through April 30; apply online here.
Since 2013, GIA has awarded more than $3.5 million in scholarships to nearly 1,000 students. Scholarships are funded by the GIA endowment fund and several private donors. Scholarships are available for distance education eLearning courses and for classes at the Institute’s campuses in Bangkok, Carlsbad, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York and Taiwan. Applicants will be considered for all available awards—ranging from $500 to $22,000—for on-campus and eLearning courses, programs or lab classes. 2016 scholarship highlights include:
- Two scholarships in honor of Richard T. Liddicoat. One full scholarship is for the on-campus Graduate Gemologist (GG) program and another toward the Distance Education GG program.
- Two scholarships in honor of Bert Krashes. One full scholarship is for the on-campus GG program and another toward the Distance Education GG program.
- Two scholarships in honor of Eunice Miles. One full scholarship is for the on-campus GG program and another toward the Distance Education GG program.
- The 2016 Tawfic Farah Memorial Scholarship will award full tuition for an on-campus student in Taiwan to pursue their GG diploma.
- The GIA Scholarship for U.S. Veterans will award scholarships of up to $1,500 each for Distance Education courses, programs or lab classes.
- Kara Ross, Tiffany & Co., and William Goldberg Diamond Co. will each offer a $10,000 scholarship toward a gemology course or program.
- Kazanjian will award two $10,000 scholarships for any gemology course or program. Preference is given to extremely high-need applicants with no family members in the jewelry business.
The next scholarship application period after this is from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30. For more information, visit GIA.edu/scholarships, call (760) 603-4131 or email scholarship@gia.edu.
New Ivory Repository Created by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
New York, NY—The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) Office of Law Enforcement’s National Wildlife Repository in Commerce City, CO, will now be accepting donations of legally owned ivory products. This service is based on the demand from ivory owners who wish to safely and legally dispose of objects they currently own to help reduce the overall ivory market.
The USFWS will accept donations of legally owned antique items (which can currently be sold with some restrictions) as well as ivory items that are not antiques but are now prohibited from commercial trade by state or federal law. Items donated will be used primarily to educate the public about the ivory trade and animal conservation, and will not be returned to the commercial market.
Any ivory donations should be sent via USPS, UPS, Federal Express, or other appropriate method to: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Property Repository, 6550 Gateway Road, Bldg. 128, Commerce City, CO 80022; Attn: Ivory Donations. Donations should include the following information:
- Description of the item(s) of legally obtained ivory being donated;
- Name and address of the donor(s);
- A statement certifying that the donor(s) is/are the sole legal owner(s) of the property being donated and that by submitting such ivory to the repository they relinquish all rights to such property, without condition, to the FWS.
The cost of shipping and insuring the value of the items is the sole responsibility of the donor, and the USFWS will not value any such donated items. Click here for more. For questions about the ivory trade, or other plant & wildlife issues, please contact Sara Yood, JVC assistant general counsel, at sara@jvclegal.org or 212-997-2002.