The ICA Congress 2003, Held in Jaipur, India,

Boasts Record International Attendance

New York, January 28, 2003: "Terrific!” "Best ICA Congress yet.” "This has to be one of the major jewelry events of 2003.”

The results are in, and the verdict unanimous: ICA’s Colored Gemstone Congress 2003, called "The Jewel in the Crown” and held last January in Jaipur, India, was a resounding success: record-breaking attendance, fascinating and exotic location, an expanded educational program with blue-ribbon speakers and panelists culled from around the world, and a dazzling succession of social events that included golf, a polo demonstration, a jewelry fashion show on a par with the biggest Las Vegas extravaganzas, and an Indian wedding where hundreds of U.S. and international gem miners, cutters, wholesalers, importers and exporters and their guests, sporting turbans or sarees, rode into a fairy tale Indian palace on horses and elephants.

"As word spreads throughout the industry of the value of ICA’s Congresses as forums both for learning and networking,” says newly-elected ICA President Joe Menzie of Joseph M. Menzie Inc., New York, "they are attracting more interest, and more attendees, even though they usually entail substantial travel. They’re definitely no longer ICA-only events,” he added. "This year more than a third of the attendees were non-members, though probably not for long, as many have already joined.”

India’s ICA’s Congress 2003 had a total of 250 participants, accompanied by more than 130 spouses, children etc., from Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Tanzania, the UK, India and the USA. In addition, the Congress, as well as the post-Congress Sri Lankan Mine Tour, received generous representation from the trade press, including Professional Jeweler, Colored Stone Magazine and Jewellery News Asia.

The educational portion of the five-day event consisted of more than 30 seminars and panel discussions; many concentrated on colored gemstone marketing, promotion and public relations with an emphasis on websites and the internet, and technical gemological topics presented by representatives of the major international gem laboratories.

Held biennially, the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) Congresses have been hosted in the past by Germany (1985), Thailand (1987), Sri Lanka (1989), USA (1991), Israel (1993), Japan (1995), Brazil (1997), Italy (1999) and, most recently, Australia (2001).

"Our Indian hosts did such a fantastic job with this Congress,” concluded Menzie, "that they’ve set a standard that will be hard to beat, wherever the Congress is held two years from now.” Nonetheless, a number of countries have already indicated a desire to host ICA’s 2005 Congress, including Korea and China. A questionnaire will be sent out to ICA’s worldwide membership and the chosen host country will be announced later this year.

The International Colored Gemstone Association, headquartered in New York City but operating additional "Gembureaus” in Idar Oberstein and Israel, is the nonprofit trade association that represents the international colored gemstone industry, a small but extremely important and influential segment of the jewelry business. The Association boasts nearly 500 members, the greatest concentration of which is in the U.S., Thailand and India; additional members are found throughout the world, from Europe to South America, and from China to Africa.

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Caption photo:
The second day of the ICA Congress 2003 concluded with a magnificent evening featuring a mock Indian wedding held at Jaipur’s Raj Mahal Palace Hotel. Wearing a festive turban (from left) are Ashok Kumar Sancheti , of Pioneer Gems, New York, an ICA member; ICA member Jack Abraham, of Precious Gem Resources, New York and the newly elected ICA president, Joseph Menzie, also of New York.