GJ Town India

Founding ICA member, dedicated to the global natural colored gemstone   Andre Assaf was born in Fez, Morocco in August of 1942. While completing his graduate studies at Hebrew University in Israel, he met his future wife, Malka, where the two would embark on an epic journey through life.   After spending a few years living in France and Switzerland, they were offered French teaching positions in the Ivory Coast, and later in Nairobi Kenya, where all three of their children were born. It was during this time that Andre was introduced to the local gemstone market, and he began buying and cutting stones.   In the coming decades, his name would become synonymous with fine tsavorite and other rare and exotic gems. His adventurous spirit carried him throughout the globe, in the process making multiple countries his home such as Israel, Canada, the United States, and Thailand.   "André's passing is a great loss to our industry and to ICA," says Roland Naftule, one of the

Shah, a long-time member of GJEPC’s KP core team & WDC Board director!   The World Diamond Council (WDC) mourns the untimely loss of Sanjay Shah, a serving member of its Board of Directors, who passed away in New York on April 29, 2022.   Joining the WDC Board in November 2021, as the representative of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Shah was a long-time member of GJEPC’s Kimberley Process (KP) core team and the convenor of the organization’s Diamond Panel Committee. In private life he was a partner of the KBS Group, one of the world’s largest diamond manufacturers and traders.    “Sanjay epitomized the sense of community and commitment that we are so proud of in our industry,” said Edward Asscher, WDC President, “giving of his time selflessly to international bodies like the World Diamond Council, and closer to home in India. Our thoughts go out to his wife Sangita, his children and their families, his colleagues and his company. He will be sore