APPOINTMENTS

LINDA MALIAS PASSARO is the new vice president of marketing for Baume & Mercier Inc., New York, N.Y. She was formerly a partner at J. Walter Thompson, where she served as manager of the diamond marketing group. Also at Baume & Mercier Inc., Steven Jager, who had been vice president of marketing and merchandising, was named to the new post of vice president of merchandising and will concentrate on product development, purchasing and production planning.

SUSAN FRIEDMAN MORGAN was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer of A. A. Friedman Co. of Augusta, Ga. Morgan, who has served on the company’s board of directors, succeeded her mother, the late H.E. Friedman (see page 196).

STEVE SHONEBARGER is the new managing director of the wholesale division of Harry Winston Inc., New York, N.Y. He is responsible for wholesale distribution, marketing and operational activities for jewelry and watches. Shonebarger previously was vice president and general merchandise manager of Mayor’s Jewelers based in Coral Gables, Fla.

A second top official of Barry’s Jewelers, the fourth-largest U.S. jeweler, left to join Sterling Inc., the second largest. HARRIET SCHREINER is now Barry’s executive vice president and general merchandise manager. She had been vice president of merchandise at Barry’s. Terry Burman, chairman and chief executive of Sterling, announced the appointment in a letter to Sterling’s vendors. Burman was president of Barry’s until he left last September. Schreiner’s appointment capped a nationwide search that began after long-time executive vice president Steve Holden resigned early this year.

ANDREA KING joined the board of directors of the Zale Corp. King, 37, is president of the Global Product Market Group for Avon Products, the world’s leading direct seller of beauty and related products. She replaces Mark Dickstein who decided not to stand for re-election when his term expired last year. King, who joined Avon in 1994, is responsible for all product marketing, merchandising, promotion and advertising for the firm’s U.S. businesses.

JANE URMAN was named national sales manager of elysee, a German manufacturer of fine pens with a U.S. office in Chatsworth, Cal. Urman was formerly a sales representative for a manufacturers’ representative organization, specializing in premium and gift product lines.

Betty Moss was named director of sales and marketing at Roberto Coin, New York, N.Y. She was previously an independent sales representative and is a charter member of the Women’s Jewelry Association and recipient of the 1990 WJA Sales Award of the Year.

Kurt Wayne Inc., New York, N.Y., named MICHELLE MCLAUGHLIN sales representative in the western region. She was formerly executive sales representative and director of marketing at Bagley & Hotchkiss.

Sherry A. DeLisle was named director of operations for Sidney Krandall & Sons of metropolitan Detroit, Mich. DeLisle will oversee all personnel functions, implement policies and procedures and direct information systems.

The Rochester Institute of Technology named STEVEN LOAR director of the School of Art and Design and the School for American Crafts. He previously served as the schools’ interim director and interim associate director; he also was chairman of the School for American Crafts. Robert Schmitz was named chairman of the School for American Crafts. He has been a professor of ceramics at the school since 1970.

EILEEN FISHMAN, CPA, recently joined Astoria Jewelry Manufacturing Co. of Long Island City, N.Y., as chief financial officer. She was formerly chief financial officer of a furniture company.

The Cas-Ker Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, named LOUIS B. ESSELMAN and Richard W. Foster as vice presidents. Esselman has been with the company for 26 years and Foster for two years.

HONORS

KAT MORROW was named Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year by Wisconsin Women Entrepreneurs Inc. Morrow is president and owner of Robert Haack Diamond Importers of Milwaukee and Madison. She was honored at the association’s “Women Triumphant” awards dinner April 30.

Susannah Wagner, a British-trained goldsmith and jeweler in Ashland, Va., was chosen to design a ceremonial mace for Roanoke College in Roanoke, Va. Maces, used as weapons in the Middle Ages, now are an academic symbol used in convocations and commencement ceremonies. The Roanoke mace was commissioned in memory of 1921 alumnus Hartselle DeBurney “Sox” Kinsey and was dedicated at this year’s commencement. Wagner created the sterling silver headpiece, center ornament and knop (knob) of the mace using the ancient “lost wax” process.

RALPH DESTINO, chairman of the board of Cartier Inc., New York, N.Y., received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree May 25 from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.

AYA AZRIELANT, designer of the Aya Azrielant 18k Gold Jewelry Collection and president/designer of its parent company, Andin International, New York, N.Y., was named one of the top 50 business owners in America by Working Woman magazine for the second consecutive year.

The Gemological Institute of America has established a research endowment in honor of the late ROBERT C. KAMMERLING, a vice president of the GIA Gem Trade Laboratory. The Robert C. Kammerling Research Endowment will support gemologists engaged in the applied gemological research work for which Kammerling was known, including fact-finding and investigative travel, photography, journalism and the purchase of specimens. The GIA Gem Trade Laboratory has made a commitment of $50,000 to the fund. GIA’s goal is to reach $100,000 by the end of 1996 and to begin making research awards next year. A qualified researcher may apply for funding from the endowment to research a specific project on behalf of GIA’s journal Gems & Gemology. Applications will be accepted later this year; grants will be awarded to successful applicants by a panel of industry experts.

H.E. FRIEDMAN OF A.A. FRIEDMAN CO. DIES

Henrietta Elizabeth Friedman, former chairman and chief executive officer of Augusta, Ga.-based A.A. Friedman Co., died in April. She was 77.

Mrs. Friedman, known to friends and family as Betty, was AAFCO’s chairman and CEO from 1986, when her husband Abe died, until February of this year, when she stepped down. During her tenure, the company doubled in size, from 69 stores to 117, becoming the eighth largest retail jewelry chain in the U.S., with outlets in Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama.

Susan Friedman Morgan assumed her mother’s duties when the latter retired. Also at that time, an executive steering committee was formed consisting of her children — Ms. Morgan, Stephen Friedman and Barbara Friedman — who have served on the board of directors and been active in the company for many years.

Speaking for the company, Ms. Morgan noted, “Betty Friedman was committed to AAFCO’s growth and to its remaining a family business. The enviable reputation in the jewelry industry which AAFCO has long enjoyed is a result of her efforts and those of her husband, Abe Friedman.”

Mrs. Friedman, a native of Augusta, was a graduate of the University of Georgia. She joined her husband’s company in 1946 as secretary. She was the first woman ever honored by the Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association and the first woman to receive the jewelry industry award from the National Foundation for Genetic Diseases.

Within her community, Mrs. Friedman was instrumental in the development of the Friedman Library, a branch of the Augusta Public Library; played a key role in building a new Temple in Hilton Head, S.C., and — through A.A. Friedman Co. — was a supporter of the Augusta Boxing Club.

OBITUARIES

Herbert Art, 85, chairman of Art’s Diamond Jewelers in Canton, Ohio, died Feb. 6. His daughter and son-in-law, Jeri and Alan Meltzer, will carry on the 72-year-old family business.

Virginia Ruth Avery, 78, of Parks, Mo., a retired jewelry store owner, died May 26.

Ernest Davignon, 81, of Holyoke, Mass., owner and jeweler of Davignon Jewelers, died May 18.

Karl J. Greve Jr., 86, of Portland, Ore., retired proprietor of Carl Greve Jewelers, died April 24. Greve changed the spelling of his first name from Carl to Karl to avoid confusion with his father, who started the jewelry business in 1923.

Burton Joseph Jr., 80, a longtime jeweler in Des Moines, Iowa, died Feb. 26. He was a certified gemologist of the American Gem Society and executive vice president of the 125-year-old Joseph Jewelers.

David Plass, 73, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a retired jeweler, died April 5.

Mildred Roskin, 71, a jeweler originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., and later from Palm Desert, Cal., died Jan. 16. She was an affiliate member of the American Gem Society

Berta Altose Thal, 85, of Palm Springs, Cal., died April 23. She and her husband, Sidney, owned Fox’s Jewelry store in Seattle, Wash. The business is now run by son-in-law Chai Mann.

Peter B. Trebotich Sr., 69, of Jackson, Miss., owner of Diamond Jewelers in Pearl, Miss., died May 9.

Nelle Yates, 82, of Jackson, Tenn., retired bridal consultant with McGee-Ross and Brodnax Jewelers, died May 12.

Clarence A. Yonaka, 76, of Edwardsville, Ill., retired owner of Yonaka Jewelers in Edwardsville, died May 10.