Your ICA Board, Staff and Committees have been extremely busy in 2023. ICA continues to be a pillar for the Colored Gem industry by being at the forefront of many of the issues surrounding the colored gemstone industry.

Our Board consists of 29 Industry leaders representing 17 countries. The Board meets regularly both in person and with video tele-conferencing. In addition we have eleven committees focusing on the different areas of our operations such as Finance, Administration, Communications, Compliance and Sustainability, Ambassadors, China, Congress, GILC, Membership and Trade Shows. These committees have also been meeting regularly to ensure ICA continues to benefit our members, promote colored gemstones, represent our industry and build confidence amongst consumers.

We must applaud the efforts of our 18 ICA Ambassadors who’s role it is to strengthen the lines of communication with our members and with the industry in their respective countries.

Our small team of staff together with the assistance of some professional consultants has provided an outstanding level of service to members. We will look for ways of expanding the range of member services and to continually improve member care.

In 2023 we have advanced the progress with many of our important objectives including:

·      Effective promotion of the use of colored gemstones and our member’s businesses through our social media channels, industry media communications and forums.

·      Negotiating new locations, better space and improved conditions for our members at important International trade shows.

·      Introduction of an ICA Women’s Community Forum.

·      Organizing and conducting a highly successful ICA Congress in Dubai.

·      Appointing a new Membership Services Manager Dirk Bloemmaert to improve our member engagement levels.

·      Growing the level of ICA Accredited Ethical Members.

·      Presenting at many International forums.

·      Appointed a new independent Gems Keep Giving Board to oversee our benevolent projects providing vital assistance to artisinal and small scale mining and cutting communities.

·      Re-introduced new publications of InColor magazine.

·      Providing improved communication facilities with our ICA Members Portal allowing members to join communities, join discussion forums and source or provide specific products.

There are so many other important projects we are working on, way too many to mention here. As your President, I encourage you to become more involved with this wonderful ICA family. Reach out to your local Ambassador, Board Members and Staff. You will be amazed at the many rewards of being an engaged and committed ICA member.

Damien Cody

ICA President

We are terribly saddened by news of three artisanal miners who perished in Kamtonga, Kenya, when the mine they were working was inundated with waters during a flash flood. It is a terrible reminder of how fragile life can be, and exponentially more so for the thousands of artisanal miners worldwide who endure sometimes dreadful hardships in order to feed their families and find some respite from the chronic poverty that plagues many of the communities that produce the gems to which we owe our livelihood. We grieve with the families and friends that they leave behind.

Last month I had an opportunity to visit the tsavorite mine of Mimo Gem Traders, owned and operated by Miriam Mimo Kamau and her husband Evan Caplan near Kamtonga. Mimo and Evan, both members of the ICA Board of Directors, work diligently to ensure that the operation of the mine is done with the utmost attention to safety, and the miners are clothed in protective coveralls, hard hats, and sturdy footwear. Experiencing the daily rigors the miners go through to bring beautiful tsavorites from the earth makes me ever so appreciative of the totality of effort each gem represents. How rare truly they are.

The most gratifying experience of my trip, however, was our visit to the Kamtonga Primary School. Just last year through the financial support of ICA’s Gems Keep Giving committee, generous support from the JCK Industry Fund, and the passion and commitment of Evan and Mimo, a well was bored on the school property, bringing fresh, clean water to the children who attend the school, their families, and neighbors. Many of the student’s parents are artisanal miners. Clean, pure water. Something that most of us take entirely for granted and access with a simple turn of the tap. To us, water, a simple turn of the tap. To these children, a life changer. 

If you want to learn more about Gems Keep Giving and the Kamtonga project, look for our InColor magazine that will be coming to you in early January. If you don’t regularly get our magazine, contact us at [email protected] or reach me at [email protected]. We wish everyone a successful and joyous holiday season. 

Douglas Hucker

ICA CEO

The Gemological Institute of America wants to give jewelers a helping hand through the hopefully busy holiday season.

From now through Dec. 20, GIA will expedite grading of D-to-Z diamonds (both natural and lab-grown) submitted to its Carlsbad, California, or New York labs, returning them the day after they are received at no additional charge. 

When a torch lights up the walls and roof at the Yiqisong Nanshan mine in north-east China, it reveals a galaxy of twinkling peridot, resembling stars fixed to a child’s bedroom ceiling. The mine is home to the largest known exploitable rough peridot resource in the world and, with tracks to help transport the ore out still being laid, production is only just about to begin. Once in operation, this particularly bright grass-green peridot deposit will increasingly see the light of day.

Diamonds are forever" is the old cliche that once guided the gemstone universe. But diamonds must now share the world stage with a new cast of sparkling characters. In a shifting landscape of consumer preferences, other precious gems are rising to prominence, drawing attention not only for their aesthetic allure but also for their versatility, uniqueness, and spiritual endowments. And Thailand is already an established hub for these newcomers.

Dr. Jeffrey Edward Post, a native of Wisconsin, received Bachelor of Science degrees in geology and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville, and his Ph.D. in chemistry, with a specialty in geochemistry, from Arizona State University. Prior to joining the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History in 1984, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for three years in the Department of Geological Sciences at Harvard University. He was Chairman of the Department of Mineral Sciences 1989-1994 and 2014-2019, and from 1991 to 2023 served as Curator-in-Charge of the U.S. National Gem and Mineral Collection. Dr. Post was the lead Curator for the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals that opened in 1997. In May 2023, he was appointed Curator of Gems and Minerals, Emeritus, and Research Associate for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

As part of your ICA Member Benefits, you can be featured on all ICA social media accounts. We’ll feature your company and images/videos in an #ICAMemberShowcase! Reach over 30,000 followers, including our new profile on #Threads. Tag @ICAGemstone or email [email protected]! Don’t miss out on this FREE ICA Member benefit! Stay tuned for information on the ICAxGJX campaign coming soon!