What’s on tap today: Friday, May 30

National Jeweler celebrates at the antique jewelry show while Couture serves cocktails at sunset and the Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association hosts its annual gala at the Mandalay Bay.

Michelle Graff michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com

Las Vegas--Each day during market week, National Jeweler will bring its readers a list of five events they need to know about for the day.

On Friday, National Jeweler celebrates at the antique jewelry show while Couture serves cocktails at sunset and the Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association hosts its annual gala at Mandalay Bay.

1. National Jeweler celebrates its new newsletter. In May, National Jeweler added an Antiques & Estate newsletter to its lineup of digital publications.

On Friday night from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Paris hotel, National Jeweler is hosting a launch party for the new newsletter in conjunction with U.S. Antique Shows, operator of the trade-only Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, which is taking place now through Sunday at the hotel.

The event is invite only. For more information, contact National Jeweler Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff at michelle.graff@emeraldexpo.com.

2. Couture serves cocktails at sunset. Following the second day of the show, Couture is holding a cocktails at sunset event for attendees and exhibitors from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Sunset Hallway & Terrace.

3. American Gemological Laboratories testing on site. AGL will be performing on-site testing of colored gemstones for identification, enhancement and origin reports in the American Gem Trade Association Pavilion at JCK Las Vegas from now through Monday, June 2. The AGL has a new booth this year, Booth 131 in the South Pacific Ballroom across from the AGTA booth.

The New York-based lab will accept stones for analysis on a first-come, first-served basis and encourages those interested in having their stones tested to make an appointment by calling 646-468-9110.  

4. The conversation on synthetic diamonds continues. Two seminars on this topic are scheduled to take place Friday, both at the JCK Las Vegas show.

The first, “Update on Synthetic Diamonds” is set for 10 a.m. in Tradewinds B and features the Gemological Institute of America’s James Shigley. It will review the GIA’s research on synthetic diamonds and DiamondCheck, the new instrument the lab is leasing to diamond bourses around the world and selling to the trade that is used to distinguish natural diamonds from possible synthetics, treated diamonds and simulants.

The second seminar is hosted by the Natural Color Diamond Association and will take place from 1 to 2:15 p.m. in Tradewinds A at Mandalay Bay. Cecilia Gardner of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Forevermark U.S.

Banner will be right here …

President Charles Stanley, Ronnie VanderLinden of the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America, Shigley and Thomas Gelb with the NCDIA are the scheduled panelists, with JCK Senior Editor Rob Bates moderating.

5. The IDCA holds its annual gala. This year, the IDCA is opening its pre-gala cocktail party to all JCK Las Vegas show attendees with badges. The reception will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. outside the South Seas Ballroom at Mandalay Bay. Anyone wishing to attend the cocktail party should RSVP to office@idcany.org with their company name and names of the attendees.

The 30th annual gala will take place immediately following the reception and is an invitation-only event. This year’s honorees are Zale Corp. (Retailer of the Year), Blue Nile (E-Tailer of the Year) and Mary Moses Kinney, merchandising director of the Independent Jewelers Organization (Doyenne of the Year).

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.