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JCK Online - Legislative, Regulatory & Legal News
The latest news and information on legislative, regulatory, and legal developments affecting the jewelry industry—including patent and trademark disputes, bankruptcies, fraud, and consumer law.

• GCAL and Motiganz Partner in Botswana
  Motiganz, a DTC Sightholder, is working with Gem Certification & Assurance Lab to certify diamonds sourced, cut, and polished in Botswana are compliant with the Kimberley Process and with GCAL’s Source Veritas process of positively identifying and tracing polished diamonds through the use of Gemprint from the factory through the market, and beyond.
• JVC Releases Gold and Silver Jewelry Guide
  The Jewelers Vigilance Committee has released a new publication, “The Essential Guide to the U.S. Trade in Gold and Silver Jewelry.”
• Trent West Protects its TrewTungsten Patents
  Trent West said he has successfully protected his patents for his company’s TrewTungsten Permanently Polished Bands.
• Israel to Chair Kimberley Process in 2010
  Israel was elected deputy chairman of the Kimberley Process for the coming year by the Sixth Plenary of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, currently being attended in New Delhi, India, by more than 70 member countries. This means that Israel will become chairman of the Kimberley Process in 2010.
• Gem Traders Worldwide to Fight Burma Ban
  The world's gemstone traders will fight a new U.S. law banning the sale of Burmese rubies and sapphires, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports.
• Paraiba.com Challenges Court Dismissal of Suit
  A federal court dismissed the case brought by Paraiba.com, against the American Gem Trade Association and others, for failure to prosecute, and for failing to respond to the court’s order to show cause. However, the owner of the Web site said he has filed a motion to challenge the dismissal—a filing that AGTA says he cannot make.
• Burmese Ruby Ban Begins
  Effective Monday, it is mandatory for U.S. jewelers who import and export non-Burmese rubies and jadeite to follow Phase 1 of the “Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008.”
• GemClear Finds Non-Compliant Topaz in U.S.
  GemClear, the independent irradiated gemstone testing laboratory in Dallas, Tex., said it has found irradiated blue topaz in the U.S. market that is not in compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations. The gems, reportedly from a New York dealer, were believed to be legal, but were not.
• Settlement in Andesine-Labradorite Suit
  Attorneys represented plaintiffs in a class action suit and Jewelry Television issued a joint statement saying they have reached a settlement in the case concerning the disclosure of andesine-labradorite.
• JVC Tutorial Program on JM University
  The Jewelers Vigilance Committee and Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company have developed a tutorial program in the jewelry industry to provide legal compliance information to Jewelers Mutual policyholders and their agents.
• Gardner to Present AML Report to World Bank
  Cecilia L. Gardner will present an overview of the U.S. jewelry industry’s response to government regulations requiring the industry to develop and execute anti-money laundering programs to The World Bank, Financial Market Integrity Group on Oct. 30.
• Skagen, Genender Settle Litigation
  Two watch companies—Genender International, of Wheeling, Ill., and Skagen Designs of Denmark, whose U.S. office is in Reno, Nev.—have settled litigation against each other over the design of some Genender Hamlin watches.
• Weil’s $20M Suit Against Theron to Proceed
  Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil’s $20 million lawsuit against Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron, 33, will go to trial by the end of October.
• JA Welcomes New Law on Store Improvements
  Jewelers of America said Monday that it welcomed a two-year extension of the 15-year depreciation on store improvements, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on Oct. 3.
• Burma Ruby Ban Phase 1 Begins Oct. 26
  U.S. Customs & Border Protection has issued Phase 1 of its plan enforce the “Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008.”
• Burma Act Takes Effect
  The “Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008” took effect Monday. As a result, jadeite and rubies of Myanmar origin cannot be imported into the United States. This importation ban encompasses all Burmese origin jadeite and rubies, notwithstanding “substantial transformation” in Thailand or elsewhere.
• EEOC Sues Sterling for Discrimination
  Sterling Jewelers Inc., the largest U.S. specialty retail jeweler, has been sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for allegedly “discriminating against a large class of female employees at stores nationwide.” It contends “thousands of women nationwide” are affected. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
• NRF Urges Congress to Address Financial Crisis
  The National Retail Federation Thursday called on Congress to set aside partisan differences and act immediately on legislation to address the nation’s financial crisis.
• JVC to Present Legal Compliance Seminar in NY
  Jewelers Vigilance Committee is presenting “Legal Compliance is NOT Optional” education seminar to members of the New York City’s 47th Street Business Improvement District and the surrounding area, Oct. 29, 2008, at 9:30 a.m.
• GemClear Receives NRC Blue Topaz License
  GemClear LP, an independent laboratory licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to test gemstones for radiation, said it has issued its first Exempt Distribution Certificate for mounted blue topaz to a Fifth Avenue jeweler.