The lab-grown diamond brand also collaborated with the website The Future Rocks on a collection launching today.
Former ICA President Launches Gemstone Mine Tour Co.
Joe Menzie, along with business partner Barbara Wheat, will lead trade members to important gemstone mining areas.

New York--For anyone in the trade interested in visiting gemstones at their source, a pair of industry executives are providing the opportunity through their new business.
Former International Colored Gemstone Association president Joe Menzie and former ICA executive director Barbara Wheat have launched Gemstone Expeditions, hosting trips for anyone in the trade who’s interested in visiting mines, buying gems at the source and exploring the cultures and people that surround them.
“The countries, people and cultures (of mining locations) have given me great life lessons, appreciations and experiences that I would like to share with (the trade),” Menzie said in an email announcing the launch.
Menzie and Wheat will lead the mine tours, collaborating with partners on the ground in all destinations. The trip costs generally will be all-inclusive, excluding airfare.
They said the trips could offer wholesale gemstone dealers new sources and retailers the opportunity to become the gemstone leaders in their communities as Gemstone Expeditions will provide YouTube videos as well as pictures and also help identify gem dealers and manufacturers to do themed trunk shows featuring stones from the areas they have visited.
The first such trip is the seven-day, six-night Africa Safari, offering a gemstone mine tour and safari throughout Kenya and Tanzania. The trip costs $3,775 and takes attendees to 11 mine sites--featuring tsavorite, ruby, tourmaline, tanzanite and more--from July 8 to 14.
The trip falls just after the Kenya Gem & Jewelry Fair in Nairobi, which travelers are invited to attend but will not be included in trip costs.
Gemstone Expeditions also will host trips to Bogota, Colombia, and Ceylon, Sri Lanka, this year, and will visit gemstone mines in Brazil sometime in 2019.
Next year, the company said it will also launch a social responsibility aspect, identifying programs in the areas they visit that benefit local children. Part of the proceeds from the Gemstone Expeditions trips will help fund these programs.
The Latest

The company said it is facing a “challenging retail environment” but is prepared for the holiday season.

It’s the hero piece of the newest "Green Jewel" collection, a collaborative offering from the two mines.

With holiday proposals right around the corner, encourage your customers to go for platinum when making the big purchase.

The 15.48-carat fancy intense “Pink Supreme” topped Christie’s fall jewelry auction in Asia, while a Patek Philippe led the watch sale.


Chris Cramer, who also spent time at Gen Z intimates brand Parade, will take on the dual role.

The stone headlining the upcoming sale could fetch up to $5 million.

In a world where the sparkle of a gemstone is only as brilliant as the trust behind it, IGI's purpose is truly invaluable.

The retail offering lets customers track their diamond’s journey.

From Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, 200.4 million consumers shopped online and in stores.

The growing company also plans to open more of its own boutiques.

The best quotes from the Oracle of Omaha and his right-hand man Charlie Munger from the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.

J. Dostie Jewelers will move from Lewiston to Yarmouth this spring.

It’s the company’s second location in Tennessee.

You can have this jewelry, why don’t you take it?

Next year’s milestone show will be full of educational programming and collaborations.

Sales experts and a diamantaire share their best advice on how to send customers home with diamond jewelry.

The brand has released five new collections.

The Albany Business Review recently honored the 100-year-old company.

To honor his legacy, GIA has set up a scholarship in his name.

There have been eight attacks in the last month, spanning from a jewelry store parking lot in Rhode Island to highways in California.

These 15 pieces of jewelry celebrate November babies and the hues of citrine and topaz that reflect the colors of the season.

The jewelry manufacturer said it can now better serve the North American market.

The jewelry brand takes viewers through a virtual winter wonderland set in New York City.

The organization recognized outstanding industry players at its celebratory event.

India’s voluntary moratorium on rough diamond imports coupled with a stunted recovery in China continue to impact the miner.

Emmanuel Raheb outlines three reasons why Hulu advertising and football can be a game changer for your jewelry store’s marketing.