Gemfields Resources Plc officially opened a cutting and polishing facility in Jaipur, India that will be used as part of a mine-to-market initiative for emeralds.

William F. Roberts, Jr., the founder of the Independent Jewelers Organization, the world’s largest jewelers’ buying group, died Aug. 8 while vacationing in Highlands Falls, NC. He was 83.

The Gemvision Design Symposium 08 will be held Oct. 3-5 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, Schaumburg, Ill.

The Gemmological Association of Great Britain has launched of the new Gem-A Web site.

Pallinghurst Resources, the parent company of Fabergé Ltd., and Gemfields, will begin trading on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange Wednesday.

New York—The Jewelry Information Center (JIC) honored eight of its former chairs in recognition of their years of dedicated service to the organization.

Dallas—Same-store sales at Neiman Marcus decreased 1.7 percent to $265 million for the four weeks ended July 26, compared with $269 million for the same period last year, the company has announced.

Mumbai, India—Gitanjali Group brand Nakshatra has named Bollywood's reigning queen, Katrina Kaif, as its new brand ambassador.

New York—Jewelry designers Jane Basch and Andrea Candela have each announced new jewelry collections that will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization dedicated to the fight against breast cancer.

Chicago—Tanishq, a national jewelry-store chain in India, has opened its first U.S. store in a mall in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill.