GJ Town India

Diamond Painting Art to Benefit the GJA   The Canadian Jewellers Association (CJA) held the CJA Industry Summit on October 21 at The St. Regis Toronto. The CJA summit is Canada’s premier jewellery industry event. The Chair of CJA, Angela Betteridge invited artist and jewellery designer Reena Ahluwalia to showcase her diamond artworks at the event. Upon invitation, Artist Reena Ahluwalia donated, Pristine, her Canadian diamond painting, a star raffle prize at the event, raising funds to benefit the CJA. The painting is valued at US$ 5000.    CJA summit was a sold out event, with successful line-up of programs during the day, including expanded education sessions from top keynote speakers and networking opportunities for the Canadian jewellery industry. The event culminated with CJA Awards, sponsored by the De Beers Group.   Ahluwalia’s Pristine, diamond painting was won by Negin Tadayyon of C.D. Barcados Co. Ltd. “I make art to add joy to people lives and when art can serve, it’s on

The new board of JVC appointed for 2024-2026   The Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) announces the appointment of its new board officers for 2024-2026.  Rebecca Foerster, Chairman- Board of Directors: Rebecca Foerster, President of Hearts on Fire North America, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee. Rebecca joined Hearts on Fire in May of 2022, after her three-year role as President of Alrosa North America ended with the closure of the US office that April.    Hearts on Fire is one of the largest diamond jewelry brands, is owned by Chow Tai Fook, and is known as “The World’s Most Perfectly Cut Diamond.” Rebecca is the former Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing for Leo Schachter Diamonds. Before joining Leo Schachter in 2014, she oversaw Diamond Sales and Marketing as the Vice President for the Rio Tinto US Representative Office and was Vice President of Marketing at Frederick Goldman.    Rebecca served as the

Accreditation to Dholakia Foundation to participate Dholakia Foundation, philanthropic arm of Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd., has been granted special accreditation to participate in the UN World Water Conference 2023. With a focus on supporting society and preserving the environment through charitable and conservation activities, it is one of only 29 Organisations in India out of 728 Organisations globally to receive this accreditation. Dholakia Foundation has made significant contributions to the environment, including creating 111 lakes in drought-prone regions in India, planting 2.5 million trees, and promoting the protection of Mother Earth. These achievements directly support several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG13 (climate action), SDG14 (life below water), and SDG15 (life on land). "Savji Dholakia, Chairman and Founder of Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd., has announced plans to create 75 new lakes, with the groundbreak

Outstanding commitment to environmental sustainability   Hari Krishna (HK) Exports Private Limited is delighted to announce that it has been honoured with the prestigious Dun & Bradstreet ESG Leadership Award 2023 in the Environment - Climate Impact category. The award recognizes the company's exceptional work in the field of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.   Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global business information provider, hosts the inaugural edition of the ESG Awards to celebrate and acknowledge companies that have excelled in their ESG initiatives. The awards bring together industry leaders, key decision-makers, and government stakeholders to discuss challenges, opportunities, and the future of the industry.   The esteemed jury panel for the Dun & Bradstreet ESG Awards 2023 included, Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates, Jayanti Shukla, Chief Executive Officer, United Way of India, Hitesh Sethi, Director – A

GJNRF has a significant welfare work for the Indian Army   On the invite from Gem & Jewellery National Relief Foundation, Lt. General H.S. Kahlon, GOC, MG & G area visited Bharat Diamond Bourse on 19th April 2022.   Gem & Jewellery National Relief Foundation has done significant relief and welfare work for the Indian Army after Kargil War. To name a few, construction of Diamond AWWA Hostel with the capacity to stay 100 students, Gem & Jewellery Defense Welfare Corpus to provide scholarship to about 1500 children of defense personnel every year.    Provision of computers to Army schools and provision of medical equipment to Army Hospitals: During the visit, Lt. General H.S. Kahlon was shown Security Control and Command Centre and Mumbai Diamond Merchant’s Association (MDMA) hall.  He was very much impressed with the facilities available at both the centers.   After the presentation of bouquet, a short film was displayed showing relief activities carried out by GJ

The website can be accessed at https://gjnrf.org/ The new website of Gem & Jewellery National Relief Foundation (GJNRF) was launched by senior representatives of the G&J industry Anoop Mehta, President, BDB, and Sriram Natarajan, MD, GIA India.   The ‘Gem & Jewellery National Relief Foundation’ has been the spearhead of coordinated social intervention by the Indian gem & jewellery industry since 1999, assisting entire communities during national calamities, and providing aid and relief for a number of other worthy causes.   The website – which can be accessed at, https://gjnrf.org – documents the perspective and activity of the past 23 years and will be regularly updated to cover all ongoing activity of the Foundation. The dignitaries congratulated the GJNRF on this new step and also for the wide-ranging social impact activity it has taken up during the last two decades. Natarajan said that the GIA has been extremely happy to partner the GJNRF in numerous project

The CSR collects 447 units of blood The leading name in the Gems and Jewelry industry, Hari Krishna (HK) Group, following their tradition, has organized a blood donation drive on the occasion of HK's 9th anniversary at The Capital Building in BKC. It was an open-for-all event for people to participate in a noble cause and motivate others by understanding and spreading the importance of each blood drop.   “A total of 12155 units of blood have been collected till date” from all the Blood Donation drives hosted by HK Group. The company organizes such events 3 times a year at their Surat and Mumbai offices, where people actively participate in giving their contribution.   This time, the event was honored by Bankers from SBI and Union Bank of India as the chief guests and other dignitaries from the diamond industry. The group has also unveiled HK’s Quarterly Newsletter as they commenced the blood donation drive.  This drive aimed to raise awareness about the importance of blood do

Hurry up! Register the 6th Kisna Diamond Marathon   Hari Krishna (HK) Exports Pvt. Ltd. is all set to organize the 6th edition of the Kisna Diamond Marathon at BKC, Bandra (E). This event will take place on April 24th, 2022. The objective behind this grand event is to raise awareness around the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan." In the previous year's 5th edition, the company had registered 8000 + entries for the marathon. Hari Krishna Exports is the only diamond company that hosts a marathon every year to promote fitness and the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' cause. The money raised from registration fees will be used for this purpose.   "We are very excited to welcome all participants with great zeal," said Ghanshyam Dholakia, Founder and Managing Director of Hari Krishna Group.  We aim to promote fitness and the noble cause of 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' among employees and the general public by organizing the Kisna Diamond Marathon. We are eager to witness the m

HK Exports collects 380 units of blood! Organized a blood donation drive at BKC-Mumbai   Hari Krishna Group, a leading name in the Gems and Jewellery industry, organized a blood donation drive on 13th February 2021 at The Capital, BKC-Mumbai. The donation camp was held on the occasion of HK’s 8th anniversary at The Capital building, BKC. The drive was open for all.   Organizing the camp was intended to outstretch the awareness about blood donation and its importance in saving human lives. HK group solemnly holds blood donation drives thrice a year. Over 11,152 units of blood have been collected so far, from such drives at the company's Surat and Mumbai offices.   The event was graced by Dr. Rajesh Dere, Dean in In charge of Jumbo Covid Center, BKC, Sachin Rane- Sr. PI, BKC, Satish Vyas – Gujarati Writer and other dignitaries from the diamond industry. Speaking about the occasion, Ghanshyam Dholakia, Founder, and Managing Director, HK Exports Pvt Ltd., said, “Blood donation i

Diamonds give disabled Namibians a bright future! Disability not Inability: NDC    [Recently Natural Diamond Council (NDC) shared the glorious chapter of Diamond by saying, ‘Disability not Inability!’] There have always been conversations around ‘disability’ and the word ‘disabled’. Who are the disabled? What is the definition of the word disability? What are organizations doing to weave them into the mainstream workforce?    Diversity and inclusion does not only pertain to gender but also people with different abilities. They are differently-abled and not disabled. This is what Namibian Diamonds conveyed through their initiative.   André Messika cutting and polishing facility is a shining example of how diamonds can do good and enrich the lives of those involved in its journey from rough to final cut diamonds.  At the diamond-cutting center in Windhoek, Namibia, facet-by-facet some of the most disadvantaged citizens of this African country are shaping a professional career for the

HVK International drives gender equality!   It is a sad fact that whilst diamonds are a product almost exclusively worn and adored by women, the industry behind them is dominated by men. Thankfully, progressive companies across the supply chain are taking action to address this, and bring gender balance into the business.   Interestingly, diamond mining has made significant progress towards diversity, despite the barriers of being a dangerous and labor intense sector. We have seen several major companies adopt measures to encourage much higher levels of female inclusion, including at very senior levels. As an industry leader, De Beers has progressed gender equality issues beyond its own workforce. It has been a force for positive change through the communities in which it operates, and amongst wider industry stakeholders.  Further downstream, the diamond polishing and jewellery manufacturing workforces remain almost entirely male, but that too is being challenged. HVK International, a

De beers group progresses Conservation initiative in Africa De Beers Group announced that the second translocation of elephants from its Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve (VLNR) in South Africa to Zinave National Park in Mozambique has taken place. The first herds of elephants were corralled at the VLNR on 25 June, before making their journey by road some 1,700km where they were released at Zinave on 27 June. The final herds arrived at Zinave today, bringing the total number of elephants moved in 2019 to 53. The translocation is part of a major conservation effort – known as ‘Moving Giants’ – that aims to move some 200 elephants over three years in a bid to help secure the future of the VLNR, which at the beginning of last year was under threat due to too many elephants impacting the broader ecosystem, and to help repopulate Mozambique’s elephant population. During the first phase of the project, 48 elephants were trans located in July and August 2018. These elephan