GIA Symposium Debate to Focus on Fair Trade Issues

The Gemological Institute of America will conclude its 2011 Symposium with “Shipwrecked!,”
a debate on how to reconcile fair trade standards with the realities of
politics and the marketplace.

“Shipwrecked” will be staged as if leading industry players
are stranded on a desert island. The participants rescue themselves by
offering reality-based solutions for a more ethical supply chain that yields
more evenly balanced returns for local miners and their villages while
maintaining competitive prices throughout the diamond and colored stone
pipeline.

Dr. Brain Nattrass, managing partner of
SustainabilityPartners, will act as the captain, and Susan Jacques, president
and CEO of Borsheims Fine Jewelry and Gifts, will act as the first mate.
Nattrass and Jacques will navigate the issues of fair trade, best business
practices, and sustainability.

Tom Cushman, managing director of Richfield Investor
Services; Richard Drucker, president of Gemworld International; Martin
Rapaport, chairman of The Rapaport Group; and Dr. George Rossman, professor of
mineralogy at the California Institute of Tecnology will serve as passengers.

The GIA Symposium, titled Advancing the Science and Business
of Gems, will take place in Carlsbad, Calif., May 29–30.

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