Caroline Stanley has been named director of marketing and development for the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC). In this newly created position, Stanley will be responsible for the overall marketing of JVC, its programs and services in support of the jewelry industry, and for expanding JVC’s endowment and development program. Stanley is a third-generation jeweler who has served the industry in trade positions for the past five years, focusing on marketing, communications, and education. The co-founder of “Jewelry 101,” she received the Women’s Jewelry Association Award for Excellence.
Brook Ellis, vice president of education for the Gemological Institute of America, has been elected second vice president of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), a national accrediting agency for distance learning. Ellis was elected to the position in April, during DETC’s 75th annual conference in San Francisco. He also serves as a member of the DETC’s board of trustees.
Ellis was named to GIA’s board of governors in 1983, and was appointed vice president of operations in 1995 and vice president of education in 1996. He also served on the American Gem Society’s board of directors from 1972-75 and 1983-95.
GIA has appointed Tawfic Farah, Ph.D., to the newly created position of director of the Endowment for Education and Research. Farah has spent the past 22 years as a senior partner at Inter-Ed Ltd., a research and consulting firm that assists higher education and nonprofit organizations in fundraising efforts.
Retailing specialist Michael Hoare has been appointed chief executive of the National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG) in the United Kingdom. Hoare has 18 years of experience in the international retailing industry and played key roles at the British Shops & Stores Association, a fellow trade association representing more than 3,000 companies in the U.K. retail sector.
Daryl Shamitoff has been promoted to the position of president of the International Jewelry Connection (IJC), a division of Simon Golub & Sons Inc. He has been with the company for 18 years.
The Diamond Council of America (DCA) has announced the election of Terry Chandler as president and CEO of the organization. Chandler has been a member of the DCA for 21 years and has served on the organization’s board since 1988.
Jeff Comment, president and CEO of Helzberg Diamonds, was elected as DCA’s chairman of the board. He previously served as the organization’s president-elect and has been a member of the association since 1997. Bruce Kenny of Sterling Jewelers remains in the post of secretary/treasurer.
Cartier has announced the appointment of two new boutique managers. Philip Lewis, a 10-year veteran of Cartier who was formerly with the company’s Beverly Hills boutique, has been named manager of the La Jolla, Calif., store; Susan Reynolds, formerly a district manager for Franklin Covey, will head Cartier’s Denver, Colo., boutique in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center
Cartier has also announced the appointment of three new account executives: Lisa Stephens in the South Central region, Jeanine Sherman in the North Central region, and Nancy Palenski in the Atlanta territory. They will be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with Cartier’s watch and writing instrument agencies in their respective regions.
Oris has named Mark Gurdus vice president of sales and marketing, a new position at the Swiss watch company. Gurdus, who will oversee and manage all domestic sales and marketing operations, has held the position of regional manager for the East Coast and Caribbean since he joined the company in 1999. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president of sales at Victoria Creations, a costume jewelry manufacturer.
Macx Inc., Bristol, R.I., has announced two appointments. Alan Cruickshank has been named marketing and sales manager and will be responsible for all sales and promotional activities. Elizabeth Niles assumes the position of ad specialty manager. She most recently served as director of special markets for Colibri.
Bellataire Diamonds has hired Melissa Kulhanjian and Michael Newman to manage sales and customer service. Kulhanjian will be responsible for sales and customer relations in the eastern half of the United States. She was formerly the manager of sales, marketing, and operations at Doris Panos Designs and has worked for London Jewelers, A.V. Gumuchian, H. Stern, Mayor’s, and Neiman Marcus. Newman, an 18-year veteran of the fine jewelry and watch industries, will be responsible for sales and customer relations in the western half of the United States. He previously worked for Suwa & Son and was national sales director for S.T. Dupont and regional sales manager for Charles Garnier and The Movado Group.
Ann Favell has joined Brown Productions in Dallas, Texas, as vice president of sales and marketing. She comes to Brown from the Duty Free Shops Group in San Francisco, where she was vice president of merchandising for the fine-jewelry division. Her background also includes work with the Cartier brand in the western United States as well as 15 years with Zale Corp. in the area of merchandise management.
Christian Thompson is Brown’s new creative director. He has more than 18 years of experience in fashion-related design and will guide the overall design for all of Brown’s client campaigns.Dick Lambert has joined the sales force of Diamond Express Corp. and Prisma Express Inc., Los Angeles. A longtime sales professional, Lambert has traveled extensively for the past 15 years in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.
The Southern Jewelry Travelers Association (SJTA) has appointed jewelry industry veteran Kathy Beall to the new position of buyer services representative. Beall is the head of Kathy Beall Associates, a consulting business specializing in the fine-jewelry industry.
Gannon & Scott, a refiner and assayer of precious metals based in Cranston, R.I., has announced several managerial appointments at its new Phoenix, Ariz., facility. Former vice president of operations Peter Dryden will be the new business and customer development manager. Christopher Jones, vice president of operations at the company’s Rhode Island headquarters for the past seven years, will assume Dryden’s former position at the Phoenix facility.
Whitney Boin Studio has announced that Daniel Goldsmith has joined the company as vice president of sales. He will head the retailer division from the New York City headquarters office. Whitney Boin Studio is an award-winning designer and manufacturer of engagement rings and fashion rings.
Kimberly Kiss has been named national sales manager of Wolf Designs Inc., a Southern California-based company featuring a full range of personal accessories and fine giftware. Kiss was formerly assistant manager of sales and marketing for The Zrike Company in Pompton Plains, N.J. Most recently, she served as licensing manager for Barth & Dreyfuss, a Los Angeles-based designer and distributor of kitchen, tabletop, and bath textiles.
Hoda Esphahani, former executive director of International Jewelry for Sotheby’s, has been promoted to chairman of that department. She has been a key contributor to the development of new business in Sotheby’s jewelry selling centers in New York, Geneva, Hong Kong, and London. Prior to joining Sotheby’s in 1998, Esphahani served as a vice president and senior jewelry specialist at Christie’s, the international auction house based in New York.