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Profile: James Riley
May 4, 2014 3:12 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Gem-A is a registered charity which aims to promote the study of gemology. Gem-A is responsible for the establishment of educational systems, administration of examinations, awarding of diplomas, provision of laboratory services to the jewelry trade, and the maintenance of libraries and collections of gem materials.
 Name: James Riley
From: London, U.K.
Organization: The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) – CEO
Rapaport News: What is your background and how did you get into the gem business?
JR: I’m a sixth generation jeweler. My family started in the business in 1818 so I grew up looking at stones. When I left university, after studying modern history, I went to learn the jewelry trade. The tradition among many U.K. jewelers is to work for somebody else to gain experience and I went to work for Boodles, a jewelry retailer.
I stayed at Boodles for nine years as it became clear that I wouldn’t be going into the family business. I was put in charge of stone buying and production at the time that Boodles was rebranding the whole business and expanding into what the company is today.
The managing director, who was a student of Edward Gübelin, emphasized training and gave me an excellent grounding by taking me on buying trips to Antwerp and New York and he also gave me a rounded viewpoint on the retail side of the industry.
Eventually, I reached a level where it was not possible to progress any further, and in 2004 I was given the opportunity to run the U.K. office of Backes & Strauss. That expanded my diamond knowledge beyond being a buyer to thinking about the sorting of parcels. During that time I got onto the board of Gem-A and around 2006, I was asked to join the board as a trustee. After that I got married and I spent some time working in the U.K.’s pawn-broking market. My involvement with Gem-A also evolved and in 2008, I became chairman.
Rapaport News: You became chairman at a volatile time for the industry.
JR: Gem-A was not going through particularly good times then. While we were doing very well in terms of people knowing who we were and about our course content, our laboratory in London was losing money. At that stage, my vice-chairman and I worked very closely with the CEO at the time monitoring our financial situation to stop the losses. A key step we took was closing our lab. There just wasn’t enough demand and [the lab] was no longer financially viable.
When our CEO retired in 2011, the board felt it would be best if I became CEO to ensure continuity.
Rapaport News: What is the function of Gem-A?
JR: Gem-A is an educational charity that traces its roots back to 1908. The function then was the same as it is now: to educate jewelers, be they retailers, manufacturers or dealers.
It was recognized in the 1920's that to be a professional, one had to be part of a professional organization. So a member of Gem-A holds the qualification of an FGA – a fellow of the association. Members receive all of our publications and have access to information that keeps them at the heart of the gemology community.
We're unique in that we’re an association that is international for individuals rather than companies. We have close to 4,000 international members, of which about one-third are from the U.K. Globally, we have more than 50,000 graduates. We revised our course notes in 2008-09 to make them more user-friendly and have basically experienced double-digit growth every year since.
Rapaport News: Are these international students learning online?
JR: Many students are learning online but we now have 42 accredited teaching centers around the world as well. The majority are universities or gemology institutes that teach our courses while we provide the exams and course material.
There is an online option as well, and for the practical parts of the course one can come to London or to one of our teaching centers. There are also a large number of providers for just the practical part of the coursework.
Rapaport News: How has the curriculum changed over time?
JR: Ahead of our 100th anniversary last year of the first ever diploma granted by Gem-A, we did a lot of work comparing the questions we asked then and now and about 50 percent of the questions were still relevant.
Pearls were a very big subject back then. It was about 20 years before cultured pearls became mainstream because people were still talking about natural pearls. People were also very worried about pricing on the old base system. Now, you would have to be at least 60 to know what that would look like.
Very little material in those days was on diamonds, which is amazing because you already had South Africa producing massive quantities of diamonds. It wasn't until the 1950's and 1960's that a real push came through for diamond trading and then we introduced a separate diamond course.
Things evolve all the time, but the basic study of visual optical gemology is very much the same.
Rapaport News: Who are your courses aimed toward?
JR: We aim our courses at three different segments of the industry. You have the retail sales person who wants to know a little but doesn't want to do a full scientific course and that’s what our Gem Basics course is for. Then you have a trader, or someone who does the buying, and needs to become an FGA. Finally, there is increasing demand by larger companies, such as the high-end jewelers and the laboratories, to train staff in using highly scientific equipment. My view is that the large companies need to invest in technology and are going to have to get to the point where they're employing somebody fulltime who knows how this equipment works. They are going to need somebody who actually understands what they are operating and can interpret the results.
Rapaport News: Why would a jeweler come to Gem-A and not others, like the GIA for example?
JR: The courses are different and adopt a different style of study. The GIA is very focused on the retailer and is also based on the U.S. style of education with multiple-choice questions and a strong practical element. We start our international students with multiple-choice because that’s what they’re used to, but we want to get them onto essay-style questions so they can express what they’ve learned and interpret results. We want our students to demonstrate that they have a fair knowledge of the trade.
Rapaport News: What are some of the trends and challenges you currently see in the market?
JR: At the moment, a challenge is that a lot of the high-ticket wealth is centered in Russia and the former Russian provinces, and I think that [political instability there] may have an impact in terms of the wealth coming out of Russia.
I think if China continues to grow at the same pace, a tremendous gulf between the haves and the have nots will develop, and there is a rising question of how the steps taken by the Chinese government to deal with those gaps will impact the market.
I think the U.S.’s recovery is very important because it represents the traditional way of selling jewelry and is still the world’s largest jewelry market. I think Japan is going to be interesting as we see the economy recovering and may see a lot of opportunity there.
Rapaport News: What is motivating the tremendous growth in demand for certification in the diamond industry?
JR: I think the laboratories have been very good at marketing and have enabled a situation where if you’re selling a diamond, you don’t have to know everything about it. The certificate almost reinforces the local store’s name and brand. Consumers are no longer buying based on service, they’re looking at the diamond as a commodity. The wider issue with certification is the vast gulf between the different laboratories, and people want assurances that the diamond and the certificate is truly what they’re told.
Rapaport News: How has that impacted Gem-A?
JR: Retailers realize that to gain a competitive edge, you have to explain to the customer all the information presented in the certificate. You’re no longer talking about just the color, clarity and size of the stone, there are so many other aspects of the stone – for example, many retailers don’t know what fluorescence is. But if you want to compete with an online seller who is presenting all the information, you have to know what you’re talking about. There is an opportunity for the jeweler to demonstrate their knowledge and instill more confidence in the consumer through the direct, personal relationship they have with their customers, and we’re seeing our numbers growing as a result of that.
Rapaport News: What advice do you give to students starting out in the industry?
JR: If you are lucky enough to work with gemstones, you’re always going to see something different and while you may not become incredibly rich from it, you can make a decent living. You can also get a great deal of enjoyment from working with customers that are passionate about their purchases. The gemstone and jewelry business is all about passion.
My advice is to do your homework. You need a network to build relationships and feed off other people’s experiences with stones. The key thing for me is building your network and being open to new topics and developments.
Rapaport News: How do you envision Gem-A evolving in the next 5 to 10 years?
JR: How do you evolve a company that’s been around for over 100 years? We are trying to be much more proactive and continue to tailor our courses toward an ever changing, and a more tech-savvy market. We had a tremendous opportunity last year to buy a property for the first time, so we now have a stable base.
We also feel that we can now grow in certain markets where we have previously under performed while maintaining our existing relationships. We’re always trying to get feedback from our students on how we can improve. As a charity we can’t make a profit but we can make a surplus, and my job as CEO is to ensure that the association makes a surplus and reinvests it to ensure that we’re around for the next 100 years.
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