The Jewelry Industry Summit, which holds regular meetings and sponsors initiatives to improve the industry’s sourcing and sustainability, is now moving to a membership model.

As part of this change, the summit will start offering member benefits, which will include access to members-only online content, such as webinars, as well as discounts to national and regional events throughout the year.

Memberships start at $60 for individual proprietors and go up to $5,000 for benefactors. Students are eligible for $40 reduced-price memberships. Members will also get the option to contribute on a monthly basis at a rate of $7 a month ($5 for students).

Memberships run for one year upon signing up. However, as an introductory offer, anyone signing up for annual membership before the end of this year will automatically have their membership extended until Dec. 31, 2020, at no extra cost. Separate sponsorship opportunities to the nonprofit charitable organization are also available.

“By moving to an annual, membership-based model, the Summit will be empowered to provide a comprehensive platform of continuous support to the fast-growing sustainability movement within the jewelry community,” said Jewelry Industry Summit chair Cecilia Gardner in a statement. “Our new platform allows all individuals and entities who are passionate about positively impacting the environment and jewelry producing communities to contribute in a variety of ways that are affordable but will make a real difference.”

Gardner continued that organizers of the summit “want to ensure sustainability becomes a broad-based industry priority and urge everyone to visit our new website to find out how they can help and to sign up for our newsletter providing updates on a variety of efforts to sustain the jewelry supply chain.”

It held its most recent summit in Tucson in February, before the annual gem fair. It held its first summit in New York City in 2016.

(Image courtesy of the Jewelry Industry Summit)

Rob Bates

JCK News Director