The Gemological Institute of America’s 2003 League of Honor Dinner will be held Oct. 20, 6 p.m., at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the G. Robert Crowningshield Research Fund, and Crowningshield, former vice president of the GIA Gem Laboratory, will be recognized for his contributions to the field of gemology.

The League of Honor Dinner is held annually to honor those who have contributed $100,000 or more to GIA’s nonprofit mission to serve the public trust through education, research, laboratory services, and instrument development. Donors are inducted into the esteemed GIA League of Honor at the event. More than 80 individuals from various gem and jewelry companies worldwide have been inducted into the League of Honor since it was founded in 1995.

There are 15 inductees in this year’s League of Honor. They are: Harshad R. Mehta, Rosy Blue, N.V.; Koichi Takahashi, Rosy Blue Fine, Inc.; The De Beers Group; David Kwiat and Jacques Roisen, Kwiat, Roisen & Ferman; Toros Kejejian and Toros Z. Kejejian, Tycoon Cut Diamonds; Pankaj Mehta and Kaushik Mehta, Eurostar Diamond Traders; Esther Fortunoff Greene and Ruth Fortunoff Cooper, Fortunoff Fine Jewelry; Dr. Edward Gübelin; William G. Shuster, JCK magazine and the JCK Shows; The Kazanjian Foundation; and Susan Fortgang, Ph.D., M. Fabrikant & Sons, Inc.

Dinner co-chairs for this event are Terry Burman of Sterling Jewelers, Inc., and Shmuel Schnitzer of M. Schnitzer & Co. Diamonds.

Dinner reservations must be received by Oct. 10, 2003. For more information, visit www.gia.edu or contact Events Manager Jan Tilton at (760) 603-4139, or e-mail events@gia.edu.

JCK