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ICA Newsletter for Members Congress Special Edition

Home Page InColor Magazine

Inside this Issue

ICA General Assembly

Discussion

Financial Report

ICA New Board of Directors 2013-2015 and Retiring Directors

ICA 2013 congress

General Information

Opening Ceremony

Speaker Sessions – May 14& 15

China (Changsha) Mineral & Gem Show Opening Ceremony

ICA 2013 Congress Closing Ceremony

ICA International Colored Poster Competition

Selected photos of the congress and mine tour as well as the

speakers’ power-point presentation will be available at the “ICA

Congress” section on our official website www.gemstone.org in

ONE week! Stay tuned!

RE: ICA General Assembly Discussion

The ICA general assembly was held at the Conference Hall, Wanda Vista Hotel,

Changsha, Hunan province, China in the afternoon of May 16, the last day of the ICA

2013 Congress.

The present members at the general assembly approved the financial report. Other

discussion topics include introducing the new president and the new directors, as

well as the discussion on the future plans.

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(ICA president Mr. Benjamin Hackman gave a speech at the ICA 2013 General

Assembly)

(ICA General Assembly, 2013)

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(ICA Board of Directors meeting was held after the general assembly on May 16,

2013. The organization of the new committee members were discussed)

(ICA ambassadors discussed on the ambassador roles and plans during the ICA

ambassador breakfast gathering on May 15. They agreed to utilize various channels

to communicate by hosting more activities within their region as well as to send in

reports discussing on the local gemstone industry).

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Financial Report

The print version of the financial report was distributed to each ICA members during

the general assembly. Attached is the PDF version for your kind consideration.

RE: ICA New Board of Directors 2013-2015 and

Retiring Directors

Group photo of the attending ICA board of directors 2013-2015 at the

congress- From left to right:

Director Country

Benjamin Hackman, ICA president USA

Santpal Sinchawla, ICA vice-president Thailand

Yu Xiaojin China

Pavel Sokolov Russia

Jean Claude Michelou, ICA vice-president Colombia

Nirmal Kumar Bardiya, ICA treasurer India

Damien Cody Australia

Ehud Harel, ICA secretary Israel

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Wilson Yuen, ICA immediate past president Hong Kong

Marcelo Ribeiro Brazil

Clement Sabbagh Brazil

Sushil Goyal USA

Gamini Zoysa Sri Lanka

Shirley Zhang Hong Kong

Susie Kennedy Kenya

Phuket Khunaprapakorn Thailand

Philippe Scordia France

Nobuyuki Horiuchi Japan

Absent from this image

Director Country

Sampat Poddar Canada

Fujio Takada Japan

Bruce Bridge, ICA secretary USA

Duncan Mclauchalan UK

Vijay Kedia India

Jenny Lo, ICA general manager Hong Kong

Group photo of the retiring ICA board of directors. ICA thanks them for

their diligent contribution to the ICA and the colored gemstone industry: From left to right:

Director Country

Wilson Yuen, ICA immediate past president Hong Kong

Kamal Kothari India

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A.H. Muhammed Imtizam Sri Lanka

Clement Sabbagh Brazil

Bryan E. Pavlik Austria

Michael Haag Germany

Asraf Mohamed Muhamad Sultan Thailand

Terrance Coldham Australia

Brandon Ma Thailand

Capt. Ramji Sharma Japan

Andrew Cody, past president Australia

RE: ICA 2013 Congress Opens on May 14 with

Great Government and Industry Support The ICA 2013 congress officially kicked off with the grand opening ceremony in

Changsha, Hunan, China on the morning of May 14. This 15th edition of ICA congress

received great participation. ICA welcomed over 600 participants from the

government, trade, lab, miners and media from over 30 countries and regions in

total.

( The ICA 2013 Congress received good attendance.)

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Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony was attended by high-rank government officials. Some of

them are deputy governor of the Hunan Government Mr. Li Youzhi; Deputy Director

of Department of Commerce of Hunan Province Mr. Luo Shuangfeng; Changsha

Municipal and deputy mayor Ms. Zhang Yinchun and executive director of Changsha

National Economic & Technical Zone Mr. Li Keming.

(Hunan deputy Governor Li Youzhi signed on the electronic sign-up board at the

entrance of the congress venue.)

Hunan deputy Governor Li indicated in his speech that Hunan government will work

closely and actively get involved in developing the mineral, gem and jewelry industry

in Changsha. While ICA Immediate Past President Wilson Yuen further reinstated

that “ICA has intention to building the preferential and fast track import system in

the jewelry and gem sector in China through the long-term International Industrial

and Creative Cultural Park project”.

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(Deputy governor of the Hunan Government Mr. Li Youzhi, ICA president Mr.

Benjamin Hackman, ICA Immediate Past President Mr. Wilson Yuen and other

government delegates were invited on stage to pour the wine into the

ice-carving sculpture which features the traditional totem of China- dragon.)

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(on the front row, from left to right): Changsha Municipal deputy mayor Ms.

Zhang Yingchun; ICA president Mr. Benjamin Hackman; Hunan deputy governor

Mr. Li Youzhi and ICA immediate past president Mr. Wilson Yuen.)

Speaker Sessions – May 14

The first day of the special section featured nine speakers bringing discussions on

China’s colored gemstone industry. Topics ranged from strategy of testing and

identification; market potential; geographic determination analysis. The tax structure

and the International Industrial and Creative Cultural Park project were also

presented.

In addition to the Chinese speakers, GIT brought discussion on color gemstones

language and tools while Bill Larson, ICA ambassador to the United States talked

about the Burma gem and natural crystals.

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(Topic of “The Development of color gemstone market and the tax structure of

China was presented by Dr. Qiu Zhili.)

Speaker Sessions – May 15

May 15, another day of speaker sections featuring 14 speakers from big-name labs

and organizations like IGI, GIA, Gubelin, IBGM, etc.

The Congress specially focused on emerald which is corresponding to the Chinese

market demand. Subjects ranging from mining to marketing potential and structure

of the emerald producing countries were presented by Marcelo Ribeiro from

Belmont Mines in Brazil; Gribriel Angarita from Colombian Emerald Export

Association and Gemfields from Zambia.

The presentations also brought some design and marketing prospectives. Both

Francis Cui from China’s No.1 colored gemstone website and Ms. Sophia Chong from

HKTDC have emphasized on how to utilize the new internet and technology platform

in the jewelry and gem industry. Designer Shirley Zhang shared her expertise on

“jewelry styling” and China’s new trends.

ICA vice-president Mr. Jean Claude Michelou presented the UN-UNICRI initiative on

certification and traceability of countries of origins in which ICA is participating.

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( Daniel Nyfeler, managing director of Gubelin Gem Lab presented the topics of

“treatment disclosure on coloured gemstones – an update”. )

An education program from mine to market was highlighted. Andy Lucas from GIA

explained the importance of education from the supply chain to mining processing,

manufacturing and sale of colored gemstone jewelry. Sourcing and database building

for colored gemstone from mine sites and origins was presented by Mr. Kenneth

Scarratt on behalf of Mr. Vincent Pardieu.

The ICA congress also welcomed government delegations from Tanzania and Sri

Lanka to speak about their gem and jewelry industry and current initiatives. The

speakers are Mr. Benjamin Mchwampaka, Assistant Commissioner for Minerals and

Mr. Amitha Gamage, chairman of Sri Lanka National Gem & Jewellery Authority, Mr

A.H.M. Imtizem, vice chairman of Sri Lanka Gem and Jewelry Association.

For the full list of the speaker sessions, please refer to our ICA official website: www.

gemstone.org

China (Changsha) Mineral & Gem Show Opening Ceremony

On the last day of the ICA 15th congress, the China (Changsha) Mineral & Gem Show

hosted a grand opening. The Changsha Show was approved by the State Department

of China and inaugurated by government officials including acting governor of Hunan

Government Mr. Du Jiahao. All ICA congress delegates were invited to attend the

opening ceremony and visit the show afterwards.

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( ICA president Mr. Benjamin Hackman spoke at the China (Changsha) Mineral &

Gem Show opening ceremony.)

ICA 2013 Congress Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony highlighted several awards including the Appreciation Award

to Mr. Li Zhiwei from Guangzhou Panyu Economy & Trade Promotion Bureau; Life

Time Achievement Award to the late Mr. Jerry Sisk, the co-founder of Jewelry

Telvision; the late Mr. Richard Krementz, third generation of the well-known jewelry

manufacturing family Krementz & Co.; Mr. Joseph Menzie, founder and a wholesale

think tank of New York distributors covering all sectors of the industry and Mr. Prida

Tiasuwan, chairman of Pranda Jewelry Public company Limited, manufacturer and

exporter of jewelry.

Awards were also given to the retiring directors as well as the Immediate Past

President Mr. Wilson Yuen.

The 7th ICA International Colored Gemstone Poster Competition Award

In this 7th edition of the IIPC, the poster competition committee received 114 posters

from almost 20 countries including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, U.S.A,

Brazil, Columbia, Russia, France, Bulgaria, Portugal, Turkey, Lithuania, Kenya,

Australia, and Israel.

Over 110 entries were exhibited at the congress venue where all attendances of the

congress voted for their favorite design. The announcement of the four winners was

made at the Congress Closing Gala dinner.

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“IIPC is dedicated to the promotion of colored gemstones. We thank the efforts and

contributions of all the participants to promote the trade of colored gemstone

worldwide,” said Yehuda Kassif, chairman of poster competition committee, also the

founder of the IIPC.

“The congress members and we are impressed by the high level of creativity and

professional approach that was shown in this competition”, said Pavel Sokolov,

member of poster competition committee.

First Prize: Ms. Tatian Berenguer, from New York U.S.A

Second Prize: Mr. Lei Wang, from Fujian, China

Third Prize: Ms. Clarisa Maciel, from Brazilia DF, Brazil

Special Recognition: Ms. Miriam Kamau, from Nairobi, Kenya

All the poster entries will be displayed at the “ICA International Poster Competition”

section on the ICA official web-site www.gemstone.org.

(Yehuda Kassif, chairman of the ICA poster competition committee announced the

winners of the poster competition. For more details of the winning pieces, please

visit the “ICA International Poster Competition” section on the ICA official website

www.gemstone.org)

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( Clement Sabbagh, ICA director, received the Life Time Achievement Award on

behalf of the Sisk family.)

(Bill Larson, ICA ambassador to USA, accepted the Life-Time achievement award

on behalf of the Krementz family.)

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(Prida Tiasuwan gave a thank-you speech receiving the Life-Time Achievement

Award.)

( Joseph Menzie receiving his Life-Time Achievement from ICA president

Benjamin Hackman.)

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(Hecliton Santini Henrique, president of IBGM passed the ICA congress plaque

in recognition of the congress host country to Francis Cui, ICA ambassador to

China. )

Selected photos of the congress and mine tour as well as the speakers’

power-point presentation will be available at the “ICA Congress”

section on our official website www.gemstone.org in ONE week!

Stay tuned!

ICA _ International Colored Gemstone Association

Tel: (852) 2365 9318

Fax: (852) 2365 9371

Email: ica@gemstone.org

Address: Unit No.11, 8th

Floor, Heng Ngai Jewelry Centre,

No.4 Hok Yuen Street East, Hung Hom,

Kowloon, Hong Kong