• Namakwa Diamonds named Craig Campbell its new chief
financial officer (CFO) and appointed him to the board of directors. Namakwa
also announced management changes at its subsidiary, Storm Mountain Diamonds.
Theo Botoulas will assume the
role of executive chairman and Jan Venter was
named CEO, replacing Keith Whitelock, who resigned. Patrick Durant became
director and CFO, following the resignation of
Pieter van Zyl.
• The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) announced the
results of the
2013 AGTA board of directors election. The incoming directors
were all elected to three-year terms and will join the board in February. The
following were elected as directors: Sushil Goyal, Liberty Gems Inc., Avi Raz,
A & Z Pearls Inc. and Cynthia Renee,
Cynthia Renee Inc.
• Paragon Diamonds Limited appointed Martin Doyle to its board
of directors. Doyle, a former senior vice president of exploration for De Beers
Canada, operates his own consulting firm, Falmar Ltd., in Canada.
• Tacori named Robert Graziano as its new northeastern U.S.
territory manager covering Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire,
New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Graziano’s career with the luxury watch and
jewelry industry spans 15 years, including nine years at Breitling USA.
• Jewelers of America (JA) has relocated to 120 Broadway,
Suite 2820, New York, NY 10271.
The telephone and fax numbers will remain the same.
• The Jewelry Information Center (JIC) will hold its annual
GEM Awards gala on January 11, 2013 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.
For this upcoming 11th annual GEM Awards, an inaugural GEM Award for jewelry
design will be included. For information about tickets and sponsorship
packages, go to www.jewelers.org/jicgemawards.
• Lloyds Insurance Company (China) Limited launched a jewelers
block insurance program especially designed for the diamond and jewelry trade
in Shanghai. This program, led by the Navigators Underwriting division of
Lloyds China, is based on the Lloyds customary jewelers block coverage,
modified to be compliant under local jurisdiction and Chinese insurance
regulations.
Lloyds Insurance Company (China) Limited is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Lloyd’s set up in Shanghai.
• OGI Systems Group debuted UNOScope HD, a portable grading
system for polished diamonds, at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. The
UNOScope HD uses innovative technology to enable ultrafast calculation
capacity. According to the company’s statement, this system requires only six
seconds to calculate the polished diamond’s proportion grading. This system can
also be connected to laptops, making it suitable for travel.
The UNOScope HD is based on high-resolution digital cameras,
enabling maximum accuracy, which assist retailers in easily demonstrating their
diamond’s proportion and symmetry to customers at the store. OGI noted that
this is the first time optical instruments have been used for symmetry grading
of polished diamonds.
• In celebration of the 2012 Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Embee Diamond Technologies of Prince Albert,
Saskatchewan released its Magen David Diamond Cut. According to the company,
any suitably equipped manufacturer is welcome to cut, polish and sell this
diamond provided they make a charitable donation of a 1 percent royalty to
Magen David Adom at www.mdais.com/MDAfriends.
Magen David, or Star of David, is the symbol of Judaism and
it is affixed to the pavilion of this round brilliant diamond so that its
reflection is clearly visible within the table as well as throughout the entire
stone. The design was created by
master diamond cutter Mike Botha, the company founder.
• The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued the
trademark “Bench Jeweler” to Stuller Inc. with the registration number
4200212. The trademark term covers websites featuring information for
professional jewelers about jewelry sales, methods, manufacturing and fashion,
and an online forum for discussion of jewelry, jewelers, jewelry making,
jewelers’ tools and skills.
• Hoover & Strong, a full-service refiner and precious
metals manufacturer based in Richmond, Virginia, celebrated its 100th
anniversary. The company manufactures eco-friendly products using recycled
precious metals that carry Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) designations.
• The National Association of Jewelry Appraisers (NAJA)
announced the appointment of Martin D. Fuller, GG, Certified Senior Member, as
NAJA’s National Secretary. He is the founder, president and lab director of
Martin Fuller Appraisals, LLC and Fuller & Associates, both located in
McLean, Virginia. NAJA also announced that it is accepting applications for its
ACE© It Appraisal Conference Scholarship for gemology students. It will provide
networking opportunities at the 39th annual ACE© It Winter Educational
Conference on February 3 and 4, 2013 in Tucson, Arizona. Applications can be
accessed on the NAJA website,
http://najaappraisers.com/ScholarshipApp2012.pdf. Deadline for submission is November 1, 2012 and the final
selection by the NAJA Scholarship Advisory Board will be announced on December
1, 2012.
• Buxbaum Jewelry Advisors (BJA) announced the opening of a
New York office at 230 Park Avenue. The company noted it would allow them to
better service clients in the eastern U.S. An affiliate of Buxbaum Group, the
firm’s headquarters are located in Agoura Hills, California.
• Lemon TechnoMist and Bonas opened a rough diamond collection
center for rough diamond design and manufacturing services in Antwerp. It will
use Lexus-OctoNus proprietary technologies to provide services that include D
to Z color estimation and optimization and contract manufacturing of fancy
colored diamonds and colorless stones above 3 carats. LemonTechnoMist is a
joint venture between Lemon Technologies and Lexus-OctoNus and Bonas is a
Diamond Trading Company (DTC) brokering house.
• The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) received the
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) School of
Excellence award for 2011-2012. GIA’s Carlsbad campus joins only 17 schools in
receiving the prestigious award this year. Among other award criteria, the
school must demonstrate an average employment of 82 percent for graduates.
• The Silver Promotion Service (SPS) launched ‘’The Business
Case for Silver’’ project at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in
Georgia. The SCAD student/faculty team working on this for-credit project will
identify brand perception opportunities to contribute to SPS’ Savor Silver
marketing communications program. Students can also learn about multiple
aspects of the jewelry industry.
• Emilio Jewelry launched a website for wholesale transactions
at www.emiliojewelry.com. The company, which produces products made in the
U.S., noted that items can be customized, with the delivery time for most items
being three days or less.