Anglo American, parent company of De Beers, hired
Stuart Chambers as chairman. He will also join the board as a nonexecutive
director and chairman designate on September 1, 2017, before fully assuming the
role on November 1. Chambers succeeds outgoing Chairman John Parker, who
announced his intention to step down during the year. Chambers was formerly
chairman of U.K.-based technology group ARM Holdings plc and consumer packing
firm Rexam plc.
Signet Jewelers appointed R. Mark Graf as independent
director. Graf was previously chief financial officer at Discover Financial
Services and has more than 30 years of experience in treasury, financial
planning, accounting, corporate development and business line management. Dale
Hilpert, who formerly held the position, retired from the board of directors
for personal reasons after 14 years at Signet.
Bryan Morgan, chief operating officer (COO) at Signet
Jewelers, has resigned due to violations of company policy. The violations were
unrelated to financial matters, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) filing. Morgan was promoted to the position earlier in 2017
after serving asexecutive vice
president for supply-chain management and repair.
Blue Nile has brought on Jason Goldberger to replace
Harvey Kanter as CEO. Kanter, who held the position for five years, will remain
as chairman of Blue Nile. Goldberger was recently president and chief digital
officer at Target.com, overseeing digital strategy and execution. Goldberger
had also held senior positions at other e-commerce groups, including Amazon.
Mountain Province Diamonds elected David Whittle as
interim CEO to replace Patrick Evans, who stepped down. Evans was CEO for 11
years and will continue as director during the transition period. Whittle was
previously lead outside director and had been a director at Mountain Province
since 1997. He had also been president of Glenmore Highlands, a partner company
that merged with Mountain Province in 2000.
The World Diamond Council (WDC) has appointed
Stephane Fischler as acting president, replacing Andrey Polyakov who has
resigned. Fischler, who was vice president, will start his two-year term as WDC
president when the term of the current board ends. Polyakov became president in
May 2016.
Jewelers of America (JA) and the Diamond Council of
America (DCA) will work together to better support jewelry businesses and the
industry. Both boards voted in favor of a new affiliation agreement, which will
take effect later in 2017. Both organizations will remain independent, with
Terry Chandler continuing as CEO of DCA and David Bonaparte remaining president
and CEO of JA. Both groups will review their member benefits and share
resources as part of the agreement.
De Beers Group created De Beers Ventures, an
investment company to acquire minority equity stakes in startups and growth
companies. These include investments in downstream distribution, consumer
brands, marketing platforms, security, cutting and polishing and imaging
technologies. The objectives of the investments will be to generate strategic
and financial returns. Entrepreneurs are encouraged to submit their business
plans and proposals to De Beers via the De Beers Ventures website.
Stuller, Inc., manufacturer of goods and services for
the jewelry industry, introduced more screening steps for diamonds. The company
established a new Diamond Lab that contains the De Beers Automated Melee
Screening Device 2 (AMS2) and PhosView, three analytical spectrometers, HRD
Laboratories’ D-Screen machine and a diamond screener from Presidium, a
gemological instrument company in Singapore. The Diamond Lab was created to
ensure no lab-grown diamonds were present in their inventory. It also offers
testing services to jewelers as well.
James Allen, an online jewelry retailer owned by
R2Net, entered an agreement with Dominion Diamond Corporation to market and
brand CanadaMark diamonds. James Allen will be the exclusive online retailer of
the branded diamonds, which are sourced from the Ekati and Diavik mines in the
Northwest Territories, Canada. Each diamond is laser inscribed with a serial
number and comes with a certificate of origin.
Jewelers for Children (JFC) and website platform
Thinkspace have partnered to allow JFC content to be easily added to any
retailer’s website hosted on Thinkspace. The add-on, in the form of a “Giving
Back” page, includes information about JFC and ways to support the charity.
In other JFC news, the organization honored Charles Stanley
and Yancy Weinrich at its 19th Facets of Hope event at the JCK Las Vegas show.
Stanley is president of Forevermark USA and Weinrich is senior vice president
of the JCK Shows, Luxury and Jewelers International Showcase (JIS). JFC
announced it raised $2.2 million in 2016 for its pledges:
•
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, $500,000
•
Make-A-Wish America, $575,000
•
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, $500,000
•
National CASA Association, $450,000
•
Make-A-Wish India, $100,000
•
Santa-America Fund, $25,000
JFC will also set aside $50,000 for local grants. The
selection of the grants will involve a social media voting campaign to be held
later in 2017.
Jewelers of America (JA) announced Sally Morrison as
the recipient of its 2018 GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement. Morrison,
director of sales and marketing at Gemfields, will receive the award at the
16th annual GEM Awards on January 19, 2018 held in New York City. She is
awarded for her accomplishments over the past 15 years, including work at De
Beers, Forevermark, World Gold Council, Diamond Producers Association (DPA) and
Gemfields. JA will reveal winners of other GEM Awards during the ceremony,
including Jewelry Design, Marketing and Communications, Media Excellence and
Retail Innovation.
The Accredited Gemologists Association (AGA) awarded
Thomas Hainschwang, managing director of the Liechtenstein branch of the GGTL
Laboratory, a $10,000 research grant to fund his diamond research. According to
AGA, Hainschwang’s proposed study on diamond treatment shows considerable
detail and is highly advanced. AGA’s Education Scholarship and Research Grant
Committee recognized the significance of this study for its potential to
increase understanding of new details for determining the origin of color in
diamonds. Hainschwang’s study will be conducted in cooperation with other
institutions in Switzerland, Germany and Ukraine.
The International Gemological Institute (IGI) introduced
the IGI Italy Association and IGI Italy Alumni Association at a June workshop
heldin Caserta, Italy. IGI Italy
Association represents the Antwerp-based laboratory’s operations in Italy. IGI
Italy Alumni Association helps professionals network via websites and has a
gemological journal published in English and Italian.
New York’s Diamond Dealers Club moved to the
International Gem Tower (IGT) located on West 47th Street in the city’s diamond
district. The property, developed by Extell Development Company, has several
high-profile tenants, including De Beers and the Gemological Institute of
America (GIA).
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - July 2017. To subscribe click here.