JNA Awards panel of judges boasts five distinguished industry experts

This is the 6th year of the JNA Awards
JNA Awards panel of judges boasts five distinguished industry experts

The annual JNA Awards will be in its sixth edition this year. It is hosting a stellar panel of judges consisting of five distinguished experts from the jewellery and gemstone industry - Albert Cheng, Advisor to the World Gold Council and former Managing Director, Far East (WGC) ; James Courage, former Chief Executive of Platinum Guild International (PGI) and former Chairman of the Responsible Jewellery Council; Lin Qiang, President and Managing Director of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE); Nirupa Bhatt, Managing Director of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in India and the Middle East and Yasukazu Suwa, Chairman of Suwa & Son, Inc.

The JNA Awards are organised by JNA to recognize and honour companies and individuals that have demonstrated excellence, innovation and outstanding business performance to shape the growth and development of Asia's jewellery industry.

An independent panel of industry leaders representing key sectors of the jewellery trade is selected to ensure that the judging process is independent, robust, transparent and intellectually rigorous.

Letitia Chow, Founder of JNA, Director of Business Development - Jewellery Group at UBM Asia, and Chair of the JNA Awards Judging Panel, said, "The judging panel is an integral part of making the JNA Awards an authoritative, fair and successful event. These individuals have been chosen not only for their expertise in the jewellery and gemstone industry, but also for their dedication and contribution to the advancement of the sector."

"Although we saw a seven-year low for jewellery demand in 2016, we have witnessed the resiliency of the jewellery sector - thanks to the gradual corporatization of family-owned companies, and the adoption of state-of-the-art management know-how and IT application by enterprise owners and their teams to their manufacturing, retailing and marketing processes. We encourage these forward thinkers and innovators to share their best business practices through the JNA Awards," added Albert Cheng. James Courage commented that through the last five years being involved in the judging of the JNA Awards he has seen ‘increased levels of investment and engagement by our industry in developing employees, improving environmental considerations, raising standards and making technical advancements, which are all well-covered by the focus of the JNA awards."

Lin Qiang also believed there has been a ‘marked progress in terms of the quality of participants, the attention it has attracted, and the positive influence it has wielded in the industry as a whole.’ Nirupa Bhatt said “This platform encourages businesses to share their best practices that contribute towards accelerating the pace of innovation in the industry.” Yasukazu Suwa added, "We hope that this year's awards will continue to see more qualified entries and first-time entrants joining our community."

JNA Awards 2017 is supported by Headline Partners Rio Tinto Diamonds and Chow Tai Fook (CTF), together with Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE), Guangdong Gems & Jade Exchange, and Guangdong Land Holdings Limited (GDLAND) as Honoured Partners.


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