A statement from Gill Goshen, Founder, President and CEO of AIDIA Fine Jewelers

 
For me, “doing good” and “giving back” are not just slogans…

Welcome. I'm Gill Goshen, a lifelong entrepreneur, and I'm proud to be the founder of AIDIA Fine Jewelers, a new luxury brand offering a collection of lab-grown diamond jewelry.

AIDIA celebrates your interest in uniquely designed and affordable luxury jewelry, while using lab-grown diamonds as a socially responsible way to continue wearing diamond jewelry. I'm happy to be able to assure you of the origin of our diamonds in amazing, high-tech facilities, which mimic the conditions deep inside the earth that produce mined diamonds.

Lab-grown diamonds are physically, chemically, optically, thermally, and visually identical to mined diamonds, with the same hardness and durability. In fact our name, AIDIA, is a palindrome created with letters from the word "diamond." That means, whether the word is read frontwards or backwards, it will always form the same word. As such, AIDIA symbolizes the mirror image between lab-grown and mined diamonds.

Moreover, our lab-grown diamonds do not disrupt the earth via mining, nor do they hurt diamond diggers, or fuel conflicts – sorry aspects of some diamond mining activities that have captured the attention of many prospective diamond customers. I know this to be true, because I spent almost 20 years, some of it in Africa, working intimately with companies in the mined diamond industry.

I had many personal days of worry, wondering whether this symbol of love had been used in exploitive ways to hurt people, places, or the earth. While I knew many examples of ethically mined diamonds, where these gems were used as engines for growth and sustainability in countries such as Botswana and Namibia – I also saw the dark side of some aspects of independent diamond mining and trading. There were activities going on that could not be controlled by any one company in the diamond industry.

Seeing things with my own eyes, I realized early on that I could not fully guarantee to my clients that any given diamond was completely clean. That's because diamonds continue to be traded via a very complex supply chain where they pass through diverse hands before being set in jewelry and sold to consumers. And not less disturbing, I could not guarantee that the proceeds from this amazing natural resource would be fairly distributed and rightfully benefit the people who deserved it.

Don't get me wrong – I can in good conscience praise the mined diamond industry from which I came, for their great effort in working to prevent the majority of diamonds from fueling conflict or exploiting human rights and the environment.

But I still worry about some mined diamonds. Extremely poor, independent diamond miners, who often work in terrible conditions, are still vulnerable to exploitation by criminals and bad actors. I, and many others in the mined diamond industry, support groups and individuals who are working to empower these small miners so they can dig for diamonds in ethically, socially, and environmentally sustainable ways.

Despite these efforts, however, I also believe that lab-grown diamonds are another readily available option for consumers who want to be sure that their diamonds are clean. So if that's you, AIDIA is here for you. Our lab-grown diamonds are spectacularly beautiful, with the same glitter and sparkle of mined diamonds. They're cut in the same way, by master cutters, and our jewelry is also designed and made by talented artisans and craftspeople in New York City! I believe in small things that will have an accumulative big impact. This is why I also have decided to create our Signature and One-of-A-Kind pieces only with recycled gold.

I also plan to launch the AIDIA AID Foundation in the spring of 2017. It's a commitment I've made that AIDIA will become a leader in community involvement and corporate social responsibility initiatives. AIDIA is committed to giving back 10% of its profits to local and global initiatives that will make our world a better place! And I want our customers to play a role! With each piece of AIDIA jewelry you purchase, you will receive an AIDIA token with a unique customer number. Using that, you'll be able to vote for the ultimate project AIDIA AID Foundation will support each year. This way, you will not only contribute to these initiatives by purchasing from AIDIA (and knowing that a portion of your purchase will be doing good to someone in the world), but you'll also be given the opportunity to play an active role in choosing AIDIA’s AID Foundation-sponsored program each and every year. Stay tuned for more information on this initiative!

Meanwhile, please enjoy your purchase of lab-created diamonds and our jewelry in good health.

About Gill Goshen, Founder, President and CEO of AIDIA Fine Jewelers

Gill Goshen, a lifelong entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of AIDIA Fine Jewelers. He received business and law degrees from IDC, Herzliya, Israel’s leading private school, dedicated to the fundamental principles of a free and tolerant society, where personal achievement goes hand-in-hand with social responsibility. Goshen was the founder and head of IDC’s student union for two consecutive terms and he currently serves on the board of directors of his alma mater.

Goshen, who spent most of his career sourcing rough diamonds from some of the world's major diamond mining companies (mainly in Africa) and selling high-end diamond jewelry to retailers world-wide, has extensive experience throughout the diamond supply chain, from mine to retail. He also founded, managed, and sold several successful companies.

After spending time in Africa for work, Goshen founded and served for three years as president of the Life Diamonds Foundation, a South African charitable trust. The trust's goals include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, combating HIV/AIDS, and working towards environmental sustainability (four of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals), and supporting local initiatives, mainly in the mining communities of Southern Africa countries.

Goshen currently serves on the board of directors of Hut HaMeshulash, an Israeli non-profit organization that provides housing, emotional support, and programming to hopeless and homeless teens and young adults who have nowhere to go.

Other than his public activities, Goshen still serves on the boards of directors and acts as a business consultant for a number of other successful companies in the diamond and jewelry industry.

Goshen speaks six languages, has lived in diverse cultures around the world (including the U.S.A), and currently resides in Israel with his spouse and three children.