b"A MESSAGE FROMJEWELERS OF AMERICA'SPRESIDENT & CEOWelcome to the 23rd annual GEM Awards. Tonight, we celebrate the industry leaders who help increase consumer desire for fine jewelry through their excellence in high jewelry, jewelry design, media and retail. The nominees and honorees all play an important role in fostering growth for our jewelry community.GEM Awards continues to be the hottest ticket in the jewelry industry. We are grateful for the unending support of our returning sponsors and guests. We are also thankful to see so many new attendees in the room tonight. GEM Awards is a time to come together and celebrate the achievements of our jewelry communityboththosenominatedandthoseintheroom.ThecocktailhoursponsoredbyDharm Internationalhas an energy that cant be duplicated. The Jules Estate Buyers sponsored Red Carpet is packed with industry leaders celebrating the best and brightest. We fully believe in the power of our GEM Awards community and we never take it for granted. Every nominee and honoree forever remain in our GEM Awards family. I encourage you to revisit the History of Excellence page in this journal to see the incredible talent that has graced our stages over the years. Tonight, we honor my dear friend and colleague John A. Green for Lifetime Achievement. There is no one more deserving of this honor. Under his leadership, John has made Lux Bond & Green a shining example for jewelry retail. John has also served on countless boards and helped carve a better future for the jewelry industry. As if that wasnt enough, John is also a big part of GEM Awards success as a past Jewelers of America Board Chair and served two times as GEM Awards Co-Chair with the late Steven Kaiser.I would like to congratulate the nominees in the categories of Jewelry Design, Media Excellence and Retail Innovation. The nine individuals and companies are leaders in their fields and we welcome them to the GEM Awards family. I also congratulate the entire team at CHANEL for their GEM Award for High Jewelry Excellence. Jewelers of America is a non-profit trade association who has been serving the industry since 1906. Your support of GEM Awards directly contributes to many essential programs that assist jewelers in obtaining the tools and education to ensure success. If you are not yet a member, we hope that you will join Jewelers of America as we are stronger together. Lastly, I would like to thank my Jewelers of America team, GEM Awards Chair Marion Fasel and the GEM Awards Committee. We have a lot of excitement coming for next year but in the meantime, enjoy the 23rd annual GEM Awards!Regards, David J. BonapartePresident & CEO | Jewelers of America26 23RD ANNUAL GEM AWARDS"