Appointments: Diamond exchange names director

New York--The Panama Diamond Exchange has appointed industry veteran Dirk Blommaert, who has held positions in the Antwerp diamond industry and with the Baselworld fair, as its business development director. 

In his new role, Blommaert will be responsible for advancing the position of the Panama Gem & Jewelry Center across the globe, and especially in the Latin American markets, as the region’s principal trading center for diamonds, colored gems and jewelry.

He already has trips scheduled to Brazil from Aug. 4 to 10 and to Argentina from Aug. 11 to 14, as well as trips scheduled for Colombia in September, Mexico in October, and Bolivia in November, among others.

He previously served as international events manager of what’s now known as the Antwerp World Diamond Council, during which time he introduced the Antwerp Diamond Pavilions at jewelry trade shows around the world.

After setting up his own company, Blommaert served for 10 years as the business development consultant for Baselworld, and also has served as a consultant on various projects including the International Gem Tower in New York.

More recently, his focus has been on developing business-to-business events for Antwerp diamond companies under the “Antwerp Comes To You First” umbrella.

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D’Orazio & Associates has announced that it is now representing fine jewelry brands Lydia Courteille and Pasquale Bruni.

After years of being an antiques dealer, Paris-based designer Lydia Courteille started redesigning the heirloom cameos of her friends as rings, embellished with the 18th century gemstones that she had collected. After gaining in popularity both in Paris and abroad, Courteille launched her own label of intricately designed pieces.

Pasquale Bruni, meanwhile, started his company in 1976 and since has added his children Eugenia and Daniele Bruni as creative director of the brand and company gemologist, respectively. The brand creates a distinctive, unconventional look through the use of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, topaz and tourmaline.

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The Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Services recently granted Advanced Chemical the OHSAS 18001 status, a process which the OHS system to control occupational health and safety risks.

From now through 2017, the OHSAS certification confirms the company’s mission to provide a safe and supportive environment for its employees and visitors at its full-service previous metals refinery. Advanced Chemical said that the certificate also gives them a competitive advantage as its increases customer confidence and sets and industry standard for health and safety.