A few words about us. Let us introduce ourselves!
Joseph Menzie, Former ICA President
Exotic countries, places, people and Gemstones, I have been very fortunate as a Gemstone dealer to experience it all. I started with a family domestic wholesale business, in 1973, migrated to an international conglomerate company, Golay Buchel in 1982, whereas I traveled, purchased gemstones in Europe and Asia for the American markets. I went on my own in 1987.
I was privileged to be a board member for the International Colored Gemstone Association, ICA. Here I spent 12 years on executive board and 4 as President. The perspectives of the international traders, markets, miners, cutters, distributors, became a mission statement to improve sales of gemstones, not only within the trade, but also consumers.
Mine tours were one small platform to achieve this. By bringing in international laboratories, this improved the “on the ground knowledge” of gemology. In bringing consumer, and high-end fashion magazine editors and writers, they told story lines surrounding the beauty of people, culture, country and gemstones found therein. Finally, people who attend, gem-dealers, manufacturers, retailers gave them an unfettered understanding of product and sourcing. Videos and pictures of their trip could be used to further influence clients and consumers in their markets.
So, the trips were not only educational, they were also enjoyable, vacation like looks at other cultures and people involved in the jewelry industry. What I can tell you after some 45 years of gemstone procurement; selling, I am still learning, and you will also.
Exotic countries, places, people and Gemstones, you will not be disappointed.
To learn more about Joe Menzie’s Gem Stone Business visit https://menzie.com
Joseph Menzie received a Lifetime Achievement Award from ICA in 2013
https://www.gemstone.org/about-us/lifetime-achievement-awards
Gemstone Expeditions
Barbara Wheat AIGS, Bangkok
My first gemstone mine tour took place in Madagascar in 2003. The 5-day tour through various mining sites had a profound effect on me and shaped the way I viewed the gemstone industry even though I had been working in the industry since 1993.
My first job was in Bangkok, Thailand as managing director of a publishing company producing magazines covering the Thai gem and jewelry export market.
In 2005 I moved to New York when I was appointed executive director of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA).
Starting in 2016, I served as executive vice president for the Natural Color Diamond Association (NCDIA) until March 2017 when I moved back to Bangkok to assume the role of president of the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS).
In recent years I have worked with The World Bank and NGOs on research projects related to gems and jewelry. I’m a regular contributor to many international magazines including The Jewelry Book, Jewelry Showcase, The New Jeweller and TNJ Colors.
I earned a Master of Science degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University and am an Accredited Gemologist from the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences. In 2017 I was awarded with a visiting professorship at Tongji University in Shanghai in their gemology department.
Cynthia Unninayar
Cynthia Unninayar is a veteran of the jewelry industry, with some 25 years of experience as Editor-in-Chief of some of the world’s most prestigious glossy jewelry trade magazines. An editorial pioneer, she identified and introduced what is now known as the color connection between global fashion and fine jewelry. In 2009, she was the first to compare Pantone’s seasonal fashion colors with colored gems and jewelry, several years before this format became a trend and now considered “the norm.” By recognizing escalating jewelry design directions, she continues to write on the ever-evolving, multi-faceted merger between fashion and jewelry.
With travels to over 50 nations, she is a cornerstone reporter with the world’s most prominent gem and jewelry shows in Asia, Europe, South America and the USA. For Cynthia, delivering groundbreaking news often means going “underground.” While many in the industry may never join a mining exploration, they can experience mine-to-market reports through her detailed articles. From caverns deep within Brazil, Kenya, Laos, Myanmar, Tanzania, Thailand and even the USA, Cynthia unearths topical news offered in text and images as colorful as the gemstones themselves.
Cynthia also independently designs, creates, edits and manages marketing and book projects (including having translated two important industry books from French to English) for designers, brands, scientists and authors in the jewelry and literary sectors.
