• India is now the official chair of the Kimberley Process Certificate Scheme (KPCS) effective January 1 through December 31, 2008, replacing the European Commission (EC). One of the founding members of KPCS, India was unanimously selected as vice chair for 2007 and was therefore eligible to take up the mandate of chair in 2008. Namibia will act as vice chair to India and O.P. Arya, the additional secretary in the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, will serve as the new chairman.
In its new capacity as chair, the country will host a meeting of KP committee members in June 2008, with the annual plenary to be held in November. India is the sixth member to hold this position, following in the path of South Africa, Canada, the Russian Federation, Botswana and the EC. KPCS consists of 48 member states — representing 74 countries — and includes all major diamond producing, trading and polishing centers.
Angola’s Cabinet Council has approved the establishment of a commission that will organize and oversee the World Summit on Diamonds, scheduled for November 2009 in Luanda.
The focus of the summit will be “the role and reputation of diamonds” and will feature discussions of diamonds role in encouraging sustainable development. Attendees will include officials from diamond-producing countries and companies, as well as industry experts. Organizers expect a total of 15,000 people in the form of exhibitors, visitors and delegates, of whom 2,000 will be foreigners.
President José Eduardo dos Santos will chair the cabinet session of the new council at the Presidential Palace.
• Turkey opened its Diamond and Precious Metals Exchange on January 18, 2008, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan present.
The new exchange will become part of the gold exchange that has facilitated Turkey’s trade in gold, silver and platinum since its establishment in 1995.
• JCK, a producer of trade events for the fine jewelry industry, announced the launch of LUXURY Bermuda, which will take place March 15-18, 2009, in Bermuda. The event targets fine retailers and brands in both the U.S. and Europe and will feature 60 exhibitors and 120 stores.
For more information, contact JCK at
US +1 8002573626 Call .
• The Jewelry Information Center’s Sixth Annual Gem Awards honored Bulgari for excellence in marketing in the corporate communications category; Terry Burman of Sterling Inc. for lifetime achievement; and Roberta Naas for excellence in jewelry and watch writing.
Deborah Norville, anchor of “Inside Edition,” served as mistress of ceremonies for the sixth consecutive year and Dan Marino, a Hall of Fame football player, introduced the lifetime achievement category.
• World Gemological Institute (WGI), an international diamond and grading center, appointed Rafael Aharoni as the institute’s first chairman for China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Aharoni, a fourth-generation diamantaire, will lead an expansion program encompassing these areas. He is the former director of the Hong Kong Institute of Gemology and honorary chairman of the Gemological Association of Sichaun PRC.
• Sundance Diamonds, a high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) processing company, opened a free diamond testing service in New York. Testing at the by-appointment-only facility indicates whether HPHT processing can increase the value of a diamond to a colorless, near colorless or fancy yellow, orange or pink color.
To make an appointment at the 47th Street testing facility, call Sundance headquarters at
US +1 8014260431 Call .
• Diamond Fields International, a marine diamond producer with exploration projects in Namibia and Liberia, announced the appointment of Edward Wayne Malouf as its new chairman effective January 17, 2008.
The appointment follows Malouf’s tenure as interim president and chief executive officer (CEO). He was previously in private practice and also served as CEO of Sierra Rutile Limited.
• Sarin Technologies, a provider of technological tools for the diamond industry, is planning to expand its business into China and Southern Africa to capitalize on increased demand.
The firm’s combined sales in the two areas jumped 67 percent in the first nine months of 2007, from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. In 2004, Sarin expanded into India and its offices there now house 100 employees or half its international staff. During the first ten months of 2007, Sarin’s India sales increased 20.8 percent to $19.7 million, compared with 2006.
• BetterThanDiamond.com plans to double its production of Takara lab-grown yellow diamonds in 2008 due to heightened consumer demand for 1.5-plus carat stones in this category.
Less Wright, president of BetterThanDiamond.com, credits the rise in demand to greater consumer awareness of the “bang for the buck” offered by lab-grown diamonds, which are often one-seventh the price of comparable natural diamonds, and heavier site traffic now that the company appears on the first page of Google searches for “cultured diamonds” and “yellow diamonds.”
The Takara offerings are grown in a private laboratory in Asia and sold at takaradiamonds.com.
• The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) announced the results of the 2008 elections for its board of directors.
The new officers, who will serve three-year terms, include Robert Bentley of Robert Bentley Company, Inc. as vice president; Betty Sue King of King’s Ransom as secretary; Benjamin “B.J” Hackman of Intercolor, Inc. as director; Bill Larson of Pala International, Inc. as director; and Gerry Manning of Manning International, Inc. as director.
• The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) has provided a new link on its website, www.jvclegal.org, enabling visitors to file a claim under the De Beers Indirect Purchaser/Reseller class action lawsuit. Information on how to complete the form and a frequently asked questions section have also been added to the site.
The lawsuit and claim form cover gem-quality diamonds only and the groups represented in the settlement include direct purchasers, indirect purchasers and resellers, and consumers, with each group assigned different eligibility criteria and claim forms.
JVC also announced that Suzan Radin Flamm has been appointed assistant general counsel. In this capacity, she will develop legal compliance materials for JVC’s website and trade publications. Flamm most recently served as a consultant.
• Signet Group has appointed Lesley Knox as a nonexecutive director. Knox has chaired Alliance Trust PLC since 2004 and served as nonexecutive director of HMV Groups PLC and Hays PC since 2002.
Knox previously served as deputy governor and then governor of British Linen Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank of Scotland.
Platinum Guild International USA appointed Heather Zachary Rogoff as manager of public relations. She will be responsible for developing public relations programs and managing their day-to-day operations.
Rogoff previously served as executive director at Tracy Paul & Company, Inc., managing public relations for brands such as Sarah Jessica Parker’s BITTEN line and Swarovski Eyewear.
• East Coast Jewelry, a fine gem retailer based in Florida, has partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida to present the first Gems of Time Invitational from March 16-17.
The event, slated to be annual, will offer 500 visitors the opportunity to peruse jewelry showcases, as well as golf, gaming and wine-tasting activities.
The Jewelers Executive Conference (JEC) will be held this year from March 14-16. Its agenda will include a look at the “white metal revolution,” with Scott Kay, a palladium advocate, and Cari Golden of the Platinum Guild International addressing this topic.
• Lee Marshall was granted the 2007 Innovation Award by the Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) for his new product, the Precision Saw Guide 2, a blanking die that reduces blade breakage.
The product was also designed to reduce the physical strain of cutting and bending metal. Marshall invented the Bonny Doon line of metalsmith equipment.
• Malossi, a producer of synthetic yellow diamonds, has created its largest synthetic yet at just over two carats.
More versatile machines and faster growing times facilitated this creation, with the process now taking three days, as opposed to eight. The company categorizes the color as “intense fancy yellow” and the clarity as “VVS.”
Mano River Resources appointed Peter Daresbury as the nonexecutive chairman of Stellar Diamonds Limited, its majority-owned subsidiary, in preparation for the initial public offering (IPO) anticipated in the second quarter.
Daresbury most recently served as a nonexecutive director for the Evraz Group S.A., a steel, coal and iron-ore mining company, and, prior to that, as executive chairman of Highland Gold Mining Ltd., a Russia-based gold mining firm.
Mano owns 68.5 percent share of Stellar Diamonds, with private investors holding the rest. Stellar owns diamond exploration projects in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
• Zale Corporation named Theo Killion executive vice president of human resources, legal and corporate strategy.
Killion previously worked at Berglass Associates, an executive recruiting firm, and served as executive vice president of human resources at Tommy Hilfiger. He also served as corporate vice president of human resources for merchandising and design at Limited Brands.
In his new role, Killion will report directly to Zale president and chief executive officer (CEO) Neal Goldberg.
• The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) and Partnership Africa Canada held a workshop on January 8 and 9 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, to discuss and develop a document addressing “Standards & Guidelines for Sierra Leone’s Artisanal Diamond Mining Sector.”
The workshop convened senior government officials, mayors, chiefs and paramount chiefs, artisanal mining representatives, labor leaders and diamond dealers to ultimately integrate best practices into existing and potential artisanal mining sectors. The participants will enact their recommendations under the guidance of the NMJD.
Representatives from USAID and Irish Aid, based in Freetown, have also agreed to support the work of the forum in the coming weeks and months.
The DDI is scheduled to publish the Standards & Guidelines document in April, with the document available for download at www.ddiglobal.org. Major objectives of the DDI include drawing development organizations and investors into artisanal mining areas, finding ways to make development programming more effective, and bringing the informal diamond mining sector into the formal economy.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2008. To subscribe click here.