Joseph Kuzi, the Founder and Managing Director of Diamond Services Ltd., has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (AIGS), and in this capacity will oversee the expansion of the organisation's coloured gemstone report and laboratory services in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
The announcement of the appointment was made by Henry Ho, AIGS' founder and Chairman. "We are delighted to have Joseph playing an integral role in AIGS' ongoing development, and we are confident that he will contribute to our becoming a principal provider of services to the coloured gemstone and jewellery sector throughout Hong Kong and China.
He brings to the organisation not only a wealth of scientific and technological acumen, but also more than two decades' worth of marketing experience in the industry."
"I am excited to be joining the AIGS team," said Mr Kuzi. "The coloured gemstone trade in Hong Kong and China is on a steep trajectory, which to a large degree relies upon the provision of professional laboratory services that defend its integrity and protect consumer confidence.
AIGS is a natural fit for the market, and has the tools, expertise and personnel to grow into one of its principal service providers."
AIGS and Diamond Services have been formally associated since January, when Diamond Services began operating a drop-off window on AIGS' behalf at its Hong Kong Central headquarters, via which members of the trade operating in Hong Kong submit both loose and jewellery-mounted coloured gemstones to AIGS for testing, analysis and grading. The turnaround time for submitted gemstones and jewellery is five to seven business days.
Founded in 1978 in Bangkok, the world's leading coloured gemstone manufacturing and trading centre, AIGS grew to include South East Asia's first gemmological training institute and a leading gem laboratory, which was the first such body internationally to introduce Raman spectrophotometer technology for its gemstone reports, becoming a role model for other gem labs worldwide.
It offers a range of coloured gemstone reports, including credit-card-sized Brief Reports, Full and Premium Gem Identification reports, and Master Gemstone Reports, which not only identify gemstones but also indicate quality. Other coloured gemstone services include amethyst-citrine natural/synthetic testing and jadeite impregnation testing.
Diamond Services was established in 2012 in Hong Kong as a developer and provider of gemmological services and technology. The company first introduced the DiamaPen®, a hand-held laser device that is able to detect fancy colour synthetic diamonds, and in 2014 it introduced DiamaTest®, an innovative system that screens both loose and colourless diamonds for synthetics, for which it won the prestigious JNA 2014 Award.
