|
|
Departments
Take Note
• LVMH appointed Jean-Christophe Babin as the CEO of Bulgari. Babin will be based in Rome and report to Francesco Trapani, the president of LVMH’s watch and jewelry division. He joined LVMH as CEO of Tag Heuer in 2000.• Eira Thomas succeeded Rob Carpenter as president and CEO of Kaminak Gold Corporation, effective March 1. She also joined the company’s board of directors. Thomas was previously the president, CEO and a director at Stornoway Diamond Corporation. She is currently on the board of Suncor Energy Inc., Dundee Precious Metals Inc., Strongbow Exploration Inc., Lucara Diamond Corp. and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Kaminak Gold also appointed Richard J. Hall and Bradley J. Blacketor to its board. Garth Kirkham stepped down from the board.• BHP Billiton announced that its CEO, Marius Kloppers, will step down from his position on May 10. He will be replaced by Neil Mackenzie, the former head of Rio Tinto’s diamond and minerals division. Mackenzie joined BHP Billiton in 2007 and is currently heading the group’s nonferrous metals unit. • Gemvara appointed Jeanne B. Daniel to its board. Daniel previously worked at Tiffany & Co., Vera Wang and Giorgio Armani, among other companies.• TACORI announced the promotion of Nabil Walden to director of sales and Kelly Cordell and Yolanda Lu to territory managers. TACORI also named Charlene Chiu to the newly created position of retail relations marketing manager and Lisa Porter as its new Texas region territory manager.• CIRCA announced the appointment of Mary Forte as Acting CEO and the promotion of Jayne Conway from Chief Administrative Officer and CFO to Chief Operating Officer and CFO. Forte previously served as president, CEO and director of Zale Corporation from 2002 to 2006. Conway held executive positions at Dunkin’ Brands, including chief strategy officer, and more recently as CFO at Gulf Oil and Planet Fitness. CIRCA also announced that Ilene Allen joined the company as senior director of human resources. • Scio Diamond Technology Corporation appointed Michael McMahon as its CEO, replacing Steve Kelley who was appointed CEO in December. McMahon has been the company’s chief operating officer since 2011 and previously held executive positions at Fluor Corporation, Jacobs Engineering and CRSS Inc.• The Novell Group, which includes Novell Design Studio, Lieberfarb and Robert Manse Designs, appointed Liz Levine Kennedy to head the group’s marketing and public relations team. Kennedy has more than 20 years of experience building brand visibility and was most recently east coast representative for marketing at the Luxury Brand Group. The company also announced that Pablo Galvez and NicoleViccarri have joined the marketing department and will report to Kennedy.• Welile Nhlapo, the Kimberley Process (KP) chair, will deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Dubai Diamond Conference. Scheduled for March 18 to March 19, the Dubai conference has already confirmed government speakers, including Susan Shabangu, the Minister of Mineral Resources for South Africa, Obert Moses Mpofu, the Minister of Mines for Zimbabwe, Francisco Queiroz, the Minister of Geology and Mines for Angola, Isak Katali, the Minister of Mines and Energy for Namibia and Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, the Minister of Minerals, Energy for Botswana.• Royal Asscher formed a strategic alliance in China and Macau with the Sparkle Roll Group Ltd., a distributor of top-tier luxury goods in China. The partnership officially began on February 1. Under the terms of the agreement, the alliance will run for a ten-year period, with an option to renew for an additional decade. Royal Asscher noted that the alliance will help expand its reach in China and facilitate the growth of sales of Royal Asscher Cut diamonds and the company’s other jewelry lines.• Eurostone, an Israel-based manufacturer of custom-cut and calibrated polished diamonds, and Diamaz, an Antwerp-based boutique diamond supplier, announced a strategic joint venture. The companies plan to coordinate efforts to supply custom-cut diamonds to the luxury watch and jewelry indsutry. In its statement, Eurostone noted that this venture is part of the company’s continuing efforts to establish a presence in the major diamond-trading centers worldwide. Diamaz said the partnership adds a significant service in supplying highly specialized diamonds.• Ernst & Young conducted a benchmark study on Waldman’s Investment Diamond (WDI) prices, comparing them with the industry wholesale and retail price range for equivalent diamonds. The study demonstrated that WDI’s diamond prices are 6 percent below average international wholesale prices and between 25 percent to 46 percent lower than online retail prices. Ernst & Young calculated the average price of a selection of 150 WDI investment-grade diamonds and the average prices of 1-carat, 2-carat and 3-carat stones. They then compared them with average wholesale prices and retail prices for equivalent diamonds.• The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) published The Essential Guide to the U.S. Trade in Materials From Plant and Wildlife Products in partnership with the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA). The guide concentrates on gem materials that have been classified by international, federal and/or state laws as protected. The new guide can be accessed on the JVC website at www.jcvlegal.org.• The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) announced that it will offer Gold Corporate Membership to the association worldwide. The organization also announced plans to grant companies in affiliated areas and Accredited Teaching Centres across the globe the same status as Gem-A members in the U.K. For more information on Gem-A membership or to download an application form, go to www.gem-a.com.• ImaGem announced that it now offers Diamond Grading with Proof.™ In its release, the company noted that after 14 years of research, it has developed the technology to provide diamond grading supported with proof of measurement. Objective standards have been developed for color, clarity, fluorescence and light behavior based on scientific research and diamond grading schemes presently in use. Using ImaGem’s technology, grading can be done at any location in the world. For more information, go to www.imageminc.com. • The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued the trademark
“Belle by Harry Winston” to Harry Winston Inc. of New York with registration number 4290027. The trademark applies to jewelry, watches, polished diamonds and gemstones, watch cases and watch movements. The USPTO also assigned several other trademarks. The trademark “Simply Ideal” was assigned to Jay Gems, doing business as Simply Diamonds and Jewelmark, of New York, with the registration number 4289957. The trademark “We Treat Customers Better” was assigned to Arzy Company Inc. of Los Angeles. This tagline, with registration number 4290017, applies to diamond and gemstone jewelry. The trademark “Love’s Light Diamonds” was assigned to Droste’s Jewelry Shoppes Inc. of Evansville, Indiana, with the registration number 4282323. Goods and services include diamond jewelry and diamonds. • DGSE Companies Inc. expanded its bullion product offerings that are sourced from Elemetal LLC, which will enable DGSE’s 34 national locations to offer higher quantities of gold and silver bullion to its retail and wholesale customers. Elemetal is a global precious metals conglomerate based in Dallas, Texas, and its principal holdings include OPM Metals, NTR Metals, Echo Environmental and DGSE.
• The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) awarded certification to two companies for having met the ethical, social and environmental standards established by the RJC’s Member Certification system. Richline Group Inc., the U.S.-based jewelry manufacturer, and C. Dinesh & Co. Pvt. Ltd., the Mumbai-based diamond trader, achieved certification. • Jeff Cooper Designs participated in the indoor cycling event, Cycle for Survival, benefiting Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center for the third year in a row. David Cooper, one of the company’s designers, took part and taught one of the sessions. He noted that during the past three years, Jeff Cooper Designs’ team has raised more than $35,000 for cancer research with an emphasis on rare cancers. • The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) in collaboration with Purchase College, State University of New York, will offer a Summer Appraisal Camp from June 8 to 23, 2013 at Purchase College. This two-week program includes all courses required for the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) designation, offered exclusively by the ASA. For more information, contact Kelly Jackson, director of Continuing Education at SUNY Purchase 914.251.6500 or kelly.jackson@purchase.edu. Article from the Rapaport Magazine - March 2013. To subscribe click here.
|
|
|
|