SAJN | NEWS
De Beers has pledged to donate US$13 641 to support skills development for a jewellery design student in one of the four countries in which it operates. The Provenance Award, part of the De Beers Group Designers Initiative, will go to an upand-coming designer in SA, Botswana, Namibia or Canada, the miner said. The company will announce the winner at its Shining Lights Awards later this year. De Beers launched the award to celebrate the second iteration of ReSet, its initiative to highlight the positive impact of natural diamonds on mining communities. Named ReSet Forever Love, it will feature items by Kristina Ferenchuk,
Ami Masamitsu and Louis Tamlyn, three recent graduates of London’s Central Saint Martin’s design school. The miner asked these designers to create jewellery that represented the concepts of “love” and “forever” in the 21st century. The final collection includes rings, necklaces and a brooch using rough and polished De Beers diamonds ranging from 0,30-1,30ct. “Through challenging themselves with questions such as whether ‘forever’ is possible in a rapidly changing world, or whether sustainability is the ultimate expression of love to our communities and planet, these three innovative designers have crafted an inspiring
Courtesy De Beers
DE BEERS TO FUND DESIGNER IN SA, BOTSWANA, NAMIBIA OR CANADA
and thought-provoking collection featuring responsibly sourced diamonds,” says Colby Shergalis, Senior Vice-President: Brand Marketing at De Beers. De Beers launched the first partnership in the initiative, ReSet Collective, in October. That featured pieces by American jewellery designers Jade Trau, Jennie Kwon, Julez Bryant, Sara Weinstock and Zoë Chicco. – Rapaport
WORLD-RENOWNED INDUSTRY GIANT JOSE HESS PASSES AWAY Jose Hess, the world-renowned jewellery designer and beloved industry leader, died peacefully at his home in St Augustine, Florida, USA on 9 February 2021 at the age of 87. Hess served as CIBJO’s first American President from 1997-2000. During that period, he worked hard to nurture a new generation of leadership for the international jewellery business. He was also a founder of both the American Jewelry Design Council and the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group, and was a guide to emerging young designers and a consultant for jewellery companies around the world. He taught at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, where he helped create a
framework course for jewellery students that is still offered today. Hess was married for 33 years to Magdalena “Maggie” Hess, a renowned designer in her own right. She survives him along with four children – Lawrence, Francine, Aaron and Josef – and four grandchildren. “Jose is a one of a handful of people who one can truly describe as having changed our industry and he left it a better place,” says Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO’s current President. “In many respects I owe my position to him, for it was he who more than 20 years ago insisted that if I really wanted to make a mark, I needed to devote myself to public service. I succeeded
him as President, but he never left my side. He was my role model, my mentor and my friend. “Jose was compassionate and generous, with a keen sense of humanity and community,” continues Cavalieri. “In many ways, he embodied the cosmopolitan industry of which we’re all part, with a strong feeling of pride in where he came from [at the age of five, Hess emigrated to the USA from Nazi Germany together with his family, narrowly escaping extermination in the Holocaust] and a remarkable degree of comfort in all the places to which life had taken him, from Europe to South America and then to the USA, which he loved dearly. He was also a brilliant jeweller, raising the level of our craft to fine art.”
US$2 MILLION AVAILABLE IN 2021 GIA SCHOLARSHIPS The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is inviting students from around the world to apply for its scholarships. Whether you are new to the gem and jewellery industry or a veteran seeking to expand your knowledge, education from GIA will equip you with the tools to succeed. A scholarship from GIA makes achieving your educational goals financially attainable. The institute is accepting scholarship applications until 31 March 2021 for classes that run from JuneDecember this year. The scholarships are open to prospective students around the world. For this application cycle, all prospective students may apply for distance education programmes, with limited on-campus scholarship availability due to COVID-19-related capacity restrictions. For
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details on eligibility, how to apply and required documents, visit: GIA.edu/gem-educationscholarship-instruction-information. “In the previous scholarship application cycle, we received a record-breaking number of applications which shows that now, more than ever, students are in need of financial support
says Duncan Pay, GIA Senior Vice-President of Education and Chief Academic Officer. “This cycle was also the first time we began offering need-based scholarships. We’re committed to helping make GIA education accessible to all as we continue to evolve the way we recruit and engage with our students.” The number of scholarships awarded, as well as the amount of each award, will vary by campus location. Changes to the scholarship application cycle were made after assessing how to effectively deliver programmes and courses during the pandemic. GIA has awarded more than US$15 million in scholarships since 2010, helping more than 3 000 students study at GIA schools around the world and through distance education
to transform their education goals into reality,”
programmes.
SA JEWELLERY NEWS - MARCH 2021