This year’s honorees include a Midwest retailer and two multi-store independents, one in New York and the other in New England.
Ralph Destino Appointed Director of Cadar
The Cartier and GIA chairman emeritus joins the brand while also retaining his position as senior international director of business development at Circa.

New York--Industry veteran Ralph Destino, who spent three decades with Cartier, is now director of a fine jewelry brand with a much shorter history.
Destino joins Cadar, the jewelry line created by Michal Kadar that will make its trade show debut this June at Couture in Las Vegas and snagged its designer the Fashion Group International’s “Rising Star” award for fine jewelry this year.
As a director of the New York-based company, Destino will focus on developing relationships with retail jewelers in the United States, working directly with Kadar, the company’s founder and creative director.
“We are delighted to welcome Ralph to Cadar,” Kadar said. “He is one of the most respected executives in the fine jewelry industry, and I am confident that his strategic vision for the brand will be invaluable as we introduce the collection to discerning style makers.”
Destino spent a total of 32 years with Cartier, the last 15 as chairman of Cartier North America. He also spent 13 years as a director of Van Cleef & Arpels, also a Richemont-owned brand.
Following his retirement from Cartier, he served as chairman of the Gemological Institute of America for three years and is chairman emeritus at both Cartier and the GIA.
In April 2015, he joined New York-based jewelry and watch buying company Circa as senior international director of business development, a post he will retain even as he joins Cadar as a director.
Destino was inducted into the National Jeweler Retailer Hall of Fame in 1999 and was the recipient of the Jewelry Information Center’s (now Jewelers of America’s) Gem Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2012.
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