ICA Congress 2017 held in Jaipur witnessed warm response from the domestic as well international gems and jewellery industry. Over 300 delegates attended the Congress this year over a period of 4 days. While the conclave was inaugurated on 21st October, the business sessions were conducted from 22nd to 24th October 2017. The entire congress was held at Fairmont Hotel in Jaipur.

Business Session on Day 1 at the ICA Congress ICA Congress 2017 began with the inauguration of the jewellery Show. Praveenshankar Pandya, Chairman of GJEPC inaugurated the show along with other dignitaries present, which included Rajiv Jain, Clement Sabbagh, Mehul Durlabhji and Sudhir Kasliwal.

The Session began with a keynote by Praveenshankar Pandya followed by Sean Gilbertson’s (CEO, Gemfields) presentation on ‘Large scale gemstone mining and its future’. Other presentations included ‘Tourmaline Mining’ by Odulio Moura; ‘New sapphire deposites in Madagascar’ by Vincent Pardieu; ‘The future of ruby gem mining and trends in Burma Mogok’ by Federico Barlocher.

During the inaugural business session of ICA (International Colored Gemstone Association) Congress 2017, Praveenshankar Pandya, Chairman, GJEPC presented a keynote on the current state of colour gemstone and diamond industry in India. During his speech, Pandya stressed on the need to increase consumer confidence in the colour gemstone industry. He further said, “Gemstone industry, which is dominated by families, need to bring in professionals and professional structures into the business. Besides, there is a dire need for sustainable and generic marketing for the colour gemstones.” He also mentioned that the Council is ready to help in every way possible for the colour gemstone industry to grow further.

Later in the day, the presentations were made on ‘The future trends in emerald mining in Colombia’ by Edwin Molinas; ‘Myths & Legends of Columbian emeralds’ by Carlos Emilio Osario; while Clement Sabbagh talked about ‘History and actual production of gemstones in Brazil and the expert profile and projects’.

Second part of the session on Day 1 included Nirmal Bardiya talking about ‘Mass product process of gemstones’; Sudhir Kasliwal giving an insight into ‘History of Gem and jewellery manufacturing in Jaipur’ while the session concluded with Deneil Benjano talking about Clearxgem, a revolutionary tool in mapping of colour gemstones. ICA, a worldwide body specifically created to benefit the global coloured gemstone industry, has been working tirelessly by advancing and promoting the knowledge and appreciation of coloured gemstones. ICA Congress is one such endeavour.

Following a day of insightful discussion on the status of mining of colour gemstones from across the world, the Day 2 began with an interesting panel discussion with well-known bloggers – Tracey Ellison, Katerina Perez and Benjamin Guttery. The discussion was moderated b Victoria Gomelsky. The bloggers discussed various nuances of jewellery blogging, which included use of hashtags, photography techniques, how to increase number of followers on Instagram page, etc.

Samitha Supun Walpola talked about ‘Jewellery retailing experience on cruise ships’ wherein he discussed about how cruise line guests are inspired to indulge in a memory — which ranges from luxury purchases such as fine jewellery, Swiss timepieces, etc. He said that retailing on a cruise is an entertaining shopping destination, full of discovery, storytelling and memories.

“We have lost our relevance with the potential consumers. More than any other industry, jewellery industry has a lot of stories and experiences to sell. However, our industry is lacking on this front. And we can use technology to reach out to more consumers,” said Mithun Sacheti from CaratLane as he spoke about ‘Future of Technology in gems and jewellery industry’. He stressed on the importance of finding relevance with the potential consumers to gain profits. Further during the day, Rita Lahlou, a Senior Category Manager from Amazon shared valuable tips on how to be successful in an e-commerce business.

On Day 3 Dr. Assheton Carter talked about ‘Best Practices in Coloured Gemstones’; Andrew Bone discussed about ‘Importance of responsible jewellery standards in Indian coloured stone industry’; while Rajiv Jain gave a complete overview of‘Transformation of Manufacturing in Cambay’. All the three speakers, stressed on the need for complete disclosure and transparency. Dr Assheton ICA’s New Team mentioned that companies need to know a specific point they can use their influence to achieve positive impact. Rajiv Jain mentioned about efforts taken by the GJEPC and the government to set up common facility centre in Cambay for the betterment of Agate polishers.

ICA New Team

On the last day of the conclave, ICA’s new team of directors was announced. Clement Sabbagh is the new ICA President. Outgoing president Benjamin Hackman for New York along with Rakesh Jain for Hong Kong are part of Administration Committee. Saurabh Bansal from Germany is one of the three new European directors for ICA. The other two are - Philippe Scordia from France and Stephan Reif from Austria. Kobi Sevdermish is the new director for Israel while Chen Shen is the new ICA director for China. The new team has assumed office from 24th October 2017. Their first term is for 2 years followed by 4 a year term.