• NASA announced that it had discovered opal deposits on Mars in 2008.

• In the Middle Ages, some people believed opal could render the wearer invisible if wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and held in hand.

• Australia produces around 97% of the world's supply of opals.

For the second year in a row, ICA supports the Baltic Amber Festival (Hong Kong). This year's festival was held from Sept. 12- 16 and kicked off with an opening reception attended by Consul General of Poland in Hong Kong Mr. Przemyslaw Jenke; International Amber Association; The Poland HK Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Design Centre; ICA; Culture Magazine and Cup magazine, etc. It was presented by Amberozia.

The Sept. 16 Meeting was the second BOD meeting since the new board was inaugurated at the May ICA Changsha Congress. 21 directors were in presence. Here is a look at some key topics of discussion:

1. i.                Membership

-          The portion of junior members among the ICA membership is comparatively small. The board has planned to boost the penetration rate in young force. With that being said, a new committee spearheaded by the director Pavel Sokolov catering to attract more young members in a way to boost the dynamics and modern thinking in the jewelry and gem industry was duly formed.

-          Revising membership rules: Under normal circumstances, when members quitted but would want to rejoin ICA, they need to re-apply as new members and pay the initiation fee.

1. ii.                Trade Show

-          ICA is set to increase the pavilion size in some selected trade shows while looking for quality shows in which lays the biggest market values and potentials. ICA is actively discussing with HKTDC regarding the increase of the pavilion size in the March Hong Kong Show 2014. The finalized version of the show schedule for 2014 will be announced soon.

1. iii.                GILC

-          Tucson will be a fixed venue of the GILC meeting. The second GILC meeting in the year will be moved from place to place (eg. Basel, BKK, etc.) starting from next year.

1. iv.                Communication

-          The Website will be gradually uplifted to include livelier content and upbeat industry news feeds.

-          The ICA newsletter will start to be published on a monthly basis.

-          A responsive webpage of the ICA 2013 Confidential Source Directory will be created to provide an optimal viewing experience. It could be accessed on iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows phone, Kindle, Nook, Sony etc. upon tying in your username and password.

1. v.                China Market and Update

-          BeijingCaishikou Department Store Co., an ICA member is editing the book "Appreciation and Analysis on Precious Stones". The board has approved to collaborate with this publication by supplying high-resolution images of specific colored stones from the ICA database network. For anyone who would like to share your product image with them, please let us know by emailing seavy.chen@gemstone.org .

-          The Changsha Industrial Park Plan is briefly discussed and reported as in development. Concrete steps will be communicated to the members as it became available.

1. vi.                Disclosure

-          The implementation plan of Common Disclosure Code (CDC) in gem industry was announced. Sending messages to encourage members to have the CDC column on the invoice, and building an access to CDC list on our ICA website are scheduled to commence in 2014. 

• The board has approved the applications of seven new ICA Ambassadors. They will serve as the direct point of contact for ICA members as well as the media, government or trade organizations in the country. The ambassadors will also gather intelligence on the country's gem and jewelry industry and share it with the ICA community.
• Please find the seven newly appointed ICA ambassadors as below. Their profile will be published in the next issue of ICA newsletter (the November edition). Stay tuned!

The International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), a non-profit organization, is the only worldwide body specifically created to benefit the global colored gemstone industry. ICA was founded in 1984 and is now comprised of almost 700 gemstone dealers, cutters, miners and retailors from 47 countries who are devoted to advancing and promoting the knowledge and appreciation of colored gemstones and jewelry.