Lifetime Achievement
The GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement is given to an institution or individual for a career’s worth of contributions to the fine jewelry and watch industry and for setting a standard of excellence that serves as an inspiration to industry colleagues. The winner will have made a substantial enhancement to the image of the industry or a particular segment.
Susan M. Jacques was appointed GIA’s president and CEO in January 2014. With exemplary gemological credentials, she is an experienced business leader with deep knowledge of the global gem and jewelry industry. Ms. Jacques joined the GIA Board of Governors in 1996 and served as chair from 2008 to 2013. She served as interim president and CEO of GIA from June 2013 to January 2014. As president and CEO, she continues as a member of the Board of Governors.
Before joining GIA, Ms. Jacques served as president and CEO of Borsheim’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts in Omaha, Nebraska. She joined the company in 1982 as an appraiser and sales associate, and in 1994, was appointed president and CEO by Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. During her tenure, she guided Borsheim’s to substantial growth and increased prominence.
Ms. Jacques is honorary chair of the Friends of the Diamond Development Initiative, is a trustee of the Jewelers of Ethical Alliance, a member of the board of advisors to the Black in Jewelry Coalition and is on the boards of Jewelers for Children, Jewelers Vigilance Committee and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of the 24 Karat Club of New York and Jewelers of America.
She received her Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA in Santa Monica in 1980. Ms. Jacques is also a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, having graduated in 1982 with distinction, and was awarded the Rayner Diploma prize.
In 2023, Ms. Jacques received the Robert M. Shipley Award from the American Gem Society for her industry service and leadership. She also received the Jewelers’ Security Alliance’s annual Industry Service Award for her support of GIA’s program that provides training in gemology and the jewelry industry to law enforcement officers. Ms. Jacques received the 2020 Stanley Schechter Award from the Jewelers Vigilance Committee for her tireless dedication, ethics and integrity in the industry. She was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) in 2010 and was inducted into National Jeweler’s Retailer Hall of Fame in 1997. She was the recipient of the 1999 Annual Award for Excellence in Retail, presented by the WJA. She also was honored by Jewelers for Children at their 2004 Facet of Hope dinner. Ms. Jacques was inducted into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame in April 2013.
Before joining GIA, Ms. Jacques served as president and CEO of Borsheim’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts in Omaha, Nebraska. She joined the company in 1982 as an appraiser and sales associate, and in 1994, was appointed president and CEO by Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. During her tenure, she guided Borsheim’s to substantial growth and increased prominence.
Ms. Jacques is honorary chair of the Friends of the Diamond Development Initiative, is a trustee of the Jewelers of Ethical Alliance, a member of the board of advisors to the Black in Jewelry Coalition and is on the boards of Jewelers for Children, Jewelers Vigilance Committee and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. She is also a member of the 24 Karat Club of New York and Jewelers of America.
She received her Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA in Santa Monica in 1980. Ms. Jacques is also a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, having graduated in 1982 with distinction, and was awarded the Rayner Diploma prize.
In 2023, Ms. Jacques received the Robert M. Shipley Award from the American Gem Society for her industry service and leadership. She also received the Jewelers’ Security Alliance’s annual Industry Service Award for her support of GIA’s program that provides training in gemology and the jewelry industry to law enforcement officers. Ms. Jacques received the 2020 Stanley Schechter Award from the Jewelers Vigilance Committee for her tireless dedication, ethics and integrity in the industry. She was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) in 2010 and was inducted into National Jeweler’s Retailer Hall of Fame in 1997. She was the recipient of the 1999 Annual Award for Excellence in Retail, presented by the WJA. She also was honored by Jewelers for Children at their 2004 Facet of Hope dinner. Ms. Jacques was inducted into the Omaha Business Hall of Fame in April 2013.
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