Message from the CEO - November 2026
Dear ICA Members,
Every gemstone carries a story. It begins in the ground, passes through the hands of miners, cutters, and traders, and ends with the person who wears it. Last month, at the tenth Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference, where I served as Master of Ceremonies, I spent two days hearing those stories in full.
Some were hard to hear. We learned how gold is fueling conflict in Sudan and eastern Congo, and how mercury from mining moves through rivers and into the fish communities depend on. I interviewed journalist Alex Cuadros and Indigenous researcher Diogo Cinta Larga about When We Sold God’s Eye, the story of a diamond rush on Cinta Larga land in the Brazilian Amazon. That afternoon, I explored the Paraíba tourmaline rush that began in Ethiopia this spring with ICA member Brian Cook of Nature’s Geometry, who was in Brazil when Paraíba was first discovered there.
When you love this industry, those chapters can feel heavy, even disheartening. But knowledge is power. Every difficult truth we understand is one we can act on.
And many of the stories were hopeful. On my panel on economic models for gemstone equity, Columbia Gem House, ANZA Gems, Moyo Gems, and Virtu Gem shared how they return more value to the people who mine and cut our stones: training gem cutters at origin, opening markets to women miners, and buying closer to the source. Some of the conference proceeds will help the Responsible Jewelry Transformative fund Phase 2 of Unity House in Kenya: a sanitation building with clean water, a kitchen, and a gathering space for women gemstone miners.
This is why ethics and responsibility are pillars of ICA. Knowing the whole story of our stones, and telling it honestly, is what earns the trust our trade depends on.
And that is who we are. ICA is the global home for the colored gemstone trade: around 600 members in 47 countries, connected by a shared love of color and a commitment to the people behind every stone. No one knows these stories better than you, and I’m proud to tell them alongside you.
#goandbegreat
Brandee Dallow
ICA CEO