Inaugural ‘Gems Keep Giving’ Project Brings Clean Water to Kenyan School
The Kamtonga Primary School Potable Water Project will expand to the larger community in its second phase.

ICA launched Gems Keep Giving last year to aid and support colored stone mining and cutting communities around the world.
Key areas of concern are safety, human rights, fair work, inclusiveness, environmental impact, resource sustainability, and community amenities, the organization said.
ICA’s board of directors identified the Kamtonga Primary School Potable Water Project for its first project based on information that had been gathered by directors Miriam Kamau and Evan Caplan as well as reports from engineers and hydrologists.
With a population of about 3,000, the village of Kamtonga—located in Kenya’s Taita-Taveta district—is home to many miners, mine workers, and their families. The area produces tsavorite garnet, rhodolite garnet, tourmaline, ruby, sapphire, aquamarine, and other colored stones.
But Kamtonga is a dry area with no piped water. According to ICA, the village’s school and its 550 students, as well as the local community, depend on unprotected springs, shallow wells, and rainwater through roof harvest for domestic and livestock needs.
The school received two water tanks a few years ago, but those are only filled once a year, and the water in the tanks are generally depleted in a month.

This leaves the women and children in the village with the task of walking several kilometers every day or two to fill plastic jugs with water. But this isn’t even possible when there’s bad weather, which is when they would then try to collect the rainwater in pots and buckets.
Needing to help with these tasks often impacts the kids’ school attendance, ICA said.
But with the Gems Keep Giving project, their school is supplied with clean water for the students and teachers to drink and wash.
The second phase of the Kamtonga project will provide the piping of water to kiosks in the wider community.
Gems Keep Giving’s funds are generated from ICA member donations and an award from the JCK Industry Grant, but the team behind it said it welcomes donations from anyone.
One hundred percent of donated funds are spent directly on its projects.
Donations can be made to Gems Keep Giving at 132 West 31st Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10001, or online at GemsKeepGiving.org.
The team also invites anyone with an idea for a future project to reach out.
The Latest

The company plans to halt all consumer-facing activity this summer, while Lightbox factory operations will cease by the end of the year.

Following weekend negotiations, the tax on Chinese goods imported into the United States will drop by 115 percent for the next 90 days.

“Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection” is on view at the Norton Museum of Art through October.

Gain access to the most exclusive and coveted antique pieces from trusted dealers during Las Vegas Jewelry Week.

The deadline to submit is June 16.


Moti Ferder stepped down Wednesday and will not receive any severance pay, parent company Compass Diversified said.

Lichtenberg partnered with luxury platform Mytheresa on two designs honoring the connection between mothers and daughters.

Supplier Spotlight Sponsored by GIA

Michel Desalles allegedly murdered Omid Gholian inside World of Gold N Diamond using zip ties and then fled the country.

Associate Editor Lauren McLemore shares her favorite looks from a night of style inspired by Black dandyism.

Sponsored by Instappraise

CEO Beth Gerstein discussed the company’s bridal bestsellers, the potential impact of tariffs, and the rising price of gold.

The brand’s first independent location outside of Australia has opened in Beverly Hills, California.

Cathy Marsh will lead the jewelry company’s efforts in the upper Midwest and western United States.

The company has multiple strategies for dealing with tariffs, though its CEO said moving manufacturing to the U.S. is not one of them.

Connecting with your customers throughout the year is key to a successful holiday marketing push.

National Jeweler Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff joined Michael Burpoe to talk tariffs, consumer confidence, and the sky-high price of gold.

Designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey made the piece as an homage to the 2025 gala’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”

Expanded this year to include suppliers, JA’s 2025 list honors 40 up-and-coming professionals in the jewelry industry.

Located in Fort Smith, it’s the Mid-South jeweler’s first store in Northwest Arkansas.

The episode about the family-owned jeweler will premiere May 17.

The Houston-based jeweler’s new 11,000-square-foot showroom will include a Rolex boutique.

The turquoise and diamond tiara hasn’t been on the market since it was purchased by Lord Astor in 1930.

“The Duke Diamond” is the largest diamond registered at the Arkansas park so far this year.

The childhood craft of making dried pasta necklaces for Mother’s Day is all grown up as the 14-karat gold “Forever Macaroni” necklace.

Set with May’s birthstone and featuring an earthworm, this ring is a perfect celebration of spring.

“Bridal 2025–2026” includes popular styles and a dedicated section for quick pricing references of lab-grown diamond bridal jewelry.