New York November 30, 2022

IDCA hosts historic â€œUS-India Jewelry Industry Symposium at the Consulate of India, New York!!

The Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association, the New York based premier association of jewelers, diamantaires and colored stone dealers hosted a historic â€œJewelry Industry Symposium on Saturday, November 19th, 2022 at the Consulate of India, New York.

Ms. Jamie Singleton, Group President & CCO, Signet Jewelers was the Keynote Speaker at the event.

The event was well attended by Government Officials â€“ City, State and
India and industry veterans.

Consul General of India, New York â€“ Randhir Jaiswal
House of Representative, Congresswoman Grace Meng
New York City Commissioner of International Affairs, Edward Mermelstein
Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, Dilip Chauhan

Mr. Ronnie VanderLinden, President IDMA was the Guest of Honor for the day.

IDCA honored 3 member organizations and individuals with the
â€œBusiness Leadership Awardâ€ in the Colorstone, Gems & Jewelry and
Jewelry category for their outstanding achievements in the industry.

Mr. Sunil Jain, Chairman, FEI
Mr. Sandeep Shah, President, Sandeep Diamond Corporation
Mr. Tejas Shah, CEO, Unique Designs Inc

IDCA President, Mr. Rajeev Pandya, opened the proceedings and gave the Welcome Address, highlighting the main raison d'etre for the symposium. NYC is the leading diamond and jewelry center in the world and the United States and India together play a pivotal role in the industry with the US being the largest importer of diamonds and jewelry from India and this being the third largest contributing sector to Indiaâ€™s GDP.

In her Keynote Address, Ms. Jamie Singleton thanked the Indian community for playing a key role in the success of the jewelry industry and said that Jewelry is such an inspiring industry. In her words, she is â€œvery confident that as the market continues to normalize after an incredible 2 years we will continue to grow and thrive but what we should focus on is - deeper consumer insights, bolder innovation and protecting the integrity of our supply chain. The future of our business is in our hands as we lead with insight, integrity and innovation."

Mr. Ronnie VanderLinden, in his speech, stated how he had witnessed the progress of the Indian community and emphasized that it is our relationships, trust and friendship with one another that keeps the industry going.

The last section of the program was a Panel Discussion moderated by Mr. Paul Zimnisky, the noted Diamond Industry Analyst & Consultant.
The following were the participants:
Mr. Amish Shah, President, ALTR Created Diamonds
Mr. Anubh Shah, CEO, With Clarity
Mr. Sandeep Shah, President, Sandeep Diamond Corp
Mr. Tejas Shah, CEO, Unique Designs Inc.

The panel focused on the "State of the Diamond & Jewelry Industry" focusing on the future of Lab Grown versus Natural Diamonds, Trade Tariffs and Sustainability & Impact on Climate Change amongst other topics.

The evening was hosted by Emcee Aditi Lamba.