M.J. Christensen Diamond Centers, one of the oldest jewelry retailers in Nevada, has contributed $150,000 to the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Endowment Fund. In recognition, Cliff Miller, president and CEO, will be inducted into the prestigious GIA League of Honor in October 2004 during the Institute’s annual dinner held in New York City. As a lasting tribute, a classroom at GIA’s world headquarters and Robert Mouawad Campus in Carlsbad, Calif., will be named in honor of the company.

The gift will provide the Institute with support for diamond research.

Miller, a GIA Graduate Gemologist (G.G.) and American Gem Society (AGS) Certified Gemologist Appraiser, began his career in the stockroom at Georgia-based A.A. Friedman Company in 1971. He was named president of A. A. Friedman in 1995 before acquiring the managing partnership of M.J. Christensen Diamond Centers in May 2000. M.J. Christensen Diamond Centers, founded in 1939, has grown into a five-store retail chain in Las Vegas.

For more information about the GIA Endowment Fund, contact Director of Institute Relations Jane Lynch by e-mail, jane.lynch@gia.edu, or call 760-603-4114.

JCK