RAPAPORT… SA Gems, managing partner of The Private Collection Of South African Diamond Program, is collaborating with GlobalGiving to help raise funds for Africa-based community projects.
“With two of every three diamonds sold on the market today being of African origin, we believe that a vehicle to give back to African causes will find a receptive audience in our trade and amongst the diamond jewelry buying public,” said Chris LaTrobe, SA Gems president.
GlobalGiving is a Washington DC-based organization that leverages the Internet to connect donors directly with international development projects on a local community level. More than 90 percent of every donation reaches the project, the organization reports.
The program called A Socially Responsible Choice offered by participating jewelers will feature Private Collection of South African Diamonds. A portion of the purchase price will be donated to specially selected high-impact community projects in Africa. “Our jewelers want to be able to show consumers that they are doing their part to help make a difference,” LaTrobe said.
The joint SA Gems and GlobalGiving project will run in the stores in conjunction with the South African Diamonds Private Collection Kimberley Process Compliance program. The company claims to have Africa’s most transparent and open supply chain. Since 1991 it has hosted some 25 trade jeweler missions to the diamond mines, cutting factories and the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sorting facilities in South Africa.
“We have had over 400 jewelers receive DTC briefings and tours of mines and our cutting facilities. This better equips our jewelers to deal with challenges like the upcoming Blood Diamond movie. Our jewelers see the Kimberley Process it in action for themselves,” LaTrobe said.
LaTrobe told Rapaport News that the organization’s goal is to have 100 jewelers signed up initially and then grow the list exponentially. The following jewelers, as of press time, are already participating in SA Gem’s program:
Amerigem — Urbandale, Iowa
DeVries Jewelry Store — Grand Rapids, Michigan
Exclusively Diamonds — Mankato, Minnesota
Forsythe Jewelers — Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Goodman’s Jewelers — Madison, Wisconsin
Jackson Jewelers — Salem, Oregon
Jewels that Dance — Asheville, North Carolina
John Atencio Ltd — Denver, Colorado
Legacy Diamonds & Design — St. George, Utah
Nelson’s Jewelry — Crystal Lake, Illinois
Nord Jewelers — Rapid City, South Dakota
Sander’s Jewelers — Pasadena, Maryland
Scheherazade Jewelers — Edina, Minnesota
Schiffman’s — Greensboro, North Carolina
Schneider’s Jewelers — Kingston, New York
Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Shreve & Co. — San Francisco, California
Stoverud’s Jewelers — Missoula, Montana