The four-member committee, composed of industry leaders from the association’s member companies, will focus on the programs, strategies and tactical priorities of the industry.
According to Richard Garard, founder and president, IGDA “The Leadership Committee and its membership are a major step forward toward our vision of establishing a more diverse and international organisation, that is the voice of authority for the lab-grown diamond industry.”
“Our list of priorities is long, and the needs of the lab-grown diamond community are core to our focus. But we know with these key industry leaders involved we will be able to achieve these goals and much more.”
Background reading: The Great Diamond Debate
Among the priorities of the group is to establish a training platform for retailers and staff in promoting and selling lab-created diamonds to consumers, as well as reinforce IGDA’s mission in representing the industry, educating and promoting the product to the international market.
Committee member Charlotte Daehn, director of communications, Courbet-Paris “The lab-grown diamond is the gemstone of the next generation and deserves to be presented with transparency, honesty and objectivity.”
She added that with the rapid growth in the industry, “strengthening IGDA has become a necessity and we aim to disseminate effective tools for the industry and clear messages for consumers.”
The two other members of the committee are Vishal Mehta, CEO of Dubai-based Lumex and Daniel Kahn, vice president of business development, Lusix of Israel.
IGDA was established in 2016 as a nonprofit group to serve as the centre for education, communication, and development of the lab-created diamonds industry worldwide.
More reading
International Grown Diamond Association launches IGDA 2.0
Synthetic diamond industry takes a stand
The consumer conundrum: ‘Should I buy a lab-grown or natural diamond?’