Bangkok to host 2005 ICA Congress
Focusing on promotion and on emerging consumer
and producing countries

New York, July 21, 2004 —The International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) has announced that Bangkok, Thailand, will be the venue for its next biennial ICA Congress. It will take place from February 18 to 21 at the five-star Peninsula Hotel, on the banks of the Chaophraya river (River of the Kings).

The congress theme will be “The Changing Face of the Colored Gemstone Industry and Trade.” “ICA is the only vertically integrated organization in the gemstone industry, and the needs of each layer of members may be different. Still, ICA is committed to providing its members our members, wherever they are in the production pipeline, with the information and promotional advice that will help them market their product farther upstream, finally reaching the end-consumer of gemstone-set jewelry,” said Joseph M. Menzie, the ICA president.

“Our trade, and the gem and jewelry business in general, is undergoing a number of exciting changes, which are taking place simultaneously,” Menzie stated. “For example, there is a proliferation of new, emerging consumer markets, such as mainland China, India, Dubai, Eastern Europe and Russia . Each of these countries or regions offers huge marketing potentials, which are both challenging and exhilarating. At the ICA congress, we will try and throw light on the various aspects of these new markets and offer seminars, workshops and manuals on how to enter them successfully.”

“There are also a number of merging producing countries that are changing the balance of colored gemstone supply, among them Madagascar and China. “We intend to present congress participants the tools and manuals they need to be successful in setting up businesses and/or joint ventures in these countries,” Menzie stated.

As it was at the congress in 2003, the marketing and promotion of colored gemstones will be a focus in Bangkok. To discuss and understand the processes that are involved, one full day of the congress will be dedicated discussing marketing and strategies for the benefit of ICA membership. Seminars will be offered on subjects such as gemstone promotion, developments and changes in fashion trends, the intensifying relationship between the jewelry and fashion industry.

In choosing the timing of the 2005 ICA Congress, Menzie said, ICA’s board of directors and the Organizing Committee in Thailand had studied a variety of options, but they kept coming back to the February dates. “The Thais are very keen to enable participants to visit or participate in the February edition of the Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Show, which starts on February 22,” Menzie said. One event that has already been set is the traditional ICA golf and tennis tournaments, which will be held on February 18 during the daytime, prior to the Congress official opening Gala evening.

“Of course, we are aware of the difficulty the congress schedule will present to some members and participants,” he added, noting that the congress will beheld only two weeks after the Tucson Gem Shows, in the United States. “In today’s overbooked industry agenda, it will always be difficult to find the date that will please all,” he stated.

Download as PDF file:
Congress Program / Registration Brochure (5,1 MB)

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Results of the last ICA Congress, 2003...