RAPAPORT. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is offering $2 million in scholarships this year, with the funds available mainly for distance-learning courses due to the pandemic.
Prospective students around the world may apply, with the deadline falling on March 31 for all classes that start between June and December 2021, the GIA said Wednesday. On-campus availability is limited. The scholarship cycle is the first time the GIA has offered need-based scholarships, the organization added.
“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 to transform their education goals into reality,” said Duncan Pay, GIA senior vice president of education and chief academic officer.
RAPAPORT. Pandora’s revenue fell 1% year on year to DKK 7.89 billion ($1.27 billion) in the fourth quarter as lockdowns forced stores to close in key markets.
Around 10% of physical stores around the world were shut during the period, with traffic at self-owned retail locations falling 60% compared with the same period a year ago, the Danish jeweler reported Thursday. Online sales partly compensated for this, as did a higher conversation rate: More consumers who entered stores ended up making a purchase.
Jewelry has suffered less than many other luxury categories during the pandemic, possibly because customers had money available that would normally go toward travel and related services, Pandora explained. However, this trend had to compete against the fact that stores were closed or operating with reduced hours.
RAPAPORT. Helzberg Diamonds has teamed up with celebrity designer Jenny Packham to create a colorless lab-grown diamond bridal collection, which it claims is the first in the jewelry industry.
The 12-piece line, which contains both engagement rings and wedding bands, is available online and at a selection of Helzberg stores, the Berkshire Hathaway-owned jeweler said Tuesday. Prices begin at $700 for a wedding band containing a total weight of one-third of a carat of synthetic stones. The highest price tag is $6,000, for an engagement ring bearing a 1-carat center stone surrounded by an additional carat of smaller stones.
Helzberg released the collection in response to the growing trend of young consumers looking for lab-grown diamonds for their engagement rings, it noted.
RAPAPORT. De Beers has pledged to donate GBP 10,000 ($13,641) to support skills development for a jewelry-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 up-and-coming designer in Botswana, Canada, Namibia or South Africa, the miner said Tuesday. 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 Martins design school.
RAPAPORT. The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) has named Ashish Pethe as its new chairman as part of a shake-up of its leadership team.
The council, which represents India’s domestic jewelry industry, elected nine new board members, who in turn picked Pethe as chairman, he told
Rapaport News this week. His term began on January 1 and will last two years. He succeeds Anantha Padmanaban, who had been in charge since 2019.
Saiyam Mehra will take over as vice chairman, a spokesperson added.
Image: Ashish Pethe. (GJC)