International Grown Diamond Association - Appoints New Leadership with Strong EMEA Base

15 Dec 2022

The International Grown Diamond Association, (IGDA), the voice of the laboratory grown diamond industry has appointed Miss Joanna Park-Tonks, Founder of CHELSEA ROCKS – Laboratory Grown Diamonds, as the new IGDA President as of 1st January 2023. Mr. Louis Price, IGDA Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of the special-order diamond consultants, M. Geller, Chicago– will act as Vice President.

This follows the long and successful tenure by Dick Garard, IGDA instigator, who, most significantly worked with the Federal Trade Commission prompting the successful revision of the “Jewellery Guides” in 2018 which state that laboratory grown diamonds should be legally classified as diamonds along with their natural counterparts, since they “…share the same essential gemological, atomic, chemical and visual qualities.”

While Joanna is based in London, UK, she has recently moved from Vienna, Austria and will continue to build the EMEA footprint for the lab grown market via IGDA representation. The IGDA will continue to operate out of Morrisville, N.C., USA with Mr. Garard continuing to serve on the Board, alongside Marty Hurwitz of MVI Research, the premier market research and strategic consulting for the global gem, jewelry and watch industries. 

“Together, the leadership team hopes to take the organisation into a new evolution, focusing on member networking, representation and the provision of actionable market insight about the lab grown industry. All of these activities will help professionalise the industry and bestow it with a collective voice and professional community. In particular, I see great value and synergies in broadening the membership base to include 3rd party suppliers to the LGD industry, student members from a variety of disciplines and increasing the value proposition for retailers. We are working hard to deliver value to retailers in particular, to provide them with tools and methodologies to explain and sell LGDs honestly, clearly and confidently.”

Furthermore, Joanna is keen to promote a mutually respectful and equitable dialogue between the created and mined diamond industry and further enhance the luxury cachet of diamonds in general.

. “It is important that maintain the status of diamonds to celebrate life’s special moments, whether as a gift or as a self-purchase. We need to guard against perceptions of value erosion throughout the whole diamond industry and maintain an aura of exclusivity, beauty and desirability. Maintaining an aspirational pricing perception for all diamonds is key to unlocking this phenomenon.”

Joanna Park-Tonks has more than 20 years’ experience in the diamond industry with De Beers, Central Selling Organisation in London and The Diamond Information Centre, Milan and she also held a variety of management positions with the global consultancy Accenture and in market insight. Prior to this, Joanna was engaged by the jewellery department at Christie’s Auction House, London. A passionate advocate for the created diamond segment, which Joanna construes as the equal qualitative counterpart to mined diamonds.

She is keen to promote “…the fair, transparent and accurate dissemination of information and promotion about laboratory grown diamonds. We might construe lab growns as the “Fifth C” in diamond marketing, promoting “Consumer Choice” in the different diamond categories and their respective benefits as they are applicable to varying consumer lifestyle, budgets and taste”.

Joanna holds a BA Honours degree in Combined Arts and Management from Castle, University of Durham, UK. She is also recipient of the Peter Kirk European Scholarship. Joanna speaks English, German, French and Italian and in her spare time supports Guide Dogs for the Blind, a cause close to her heart given the visual language of jewellery and the gift of sight.

 View CHELSEA ROCKS

View The International Grown Diamond Association, (IGDA)

Source: International Grown Diamond Association