Ute Decker honoured with Award for Ethical and Responsible Jewelry Leadership: New York, USA

Eye on the Prize: Towards Continuing Improvement in Practice and Artistry

at 15th International Gold + Diamond Conference 2025, NY, by Initiatives in Art and Culture

Ute will be travelling to NY to receive the Award at the IAC’s Gold + Diamond Conference this July.

For 15 years, IAC’s Gold + Diamond Conference has been informed by two primary concerns: how to define and achieve responsible practice on the one hand, and how to preserve and celebrate ethical artisanry and artistic vision on the other. While our perspective on these concerns is ever-broadening, our goal is unchanged: to initiate dialogue and inspire change without fear.

As the precious metals, gemstone, and jewelry sectors face upheaval, whether political, military, economic, or technological, we must keep our “eye on the prize”: a flourishing and habitable planet on which the centrality of heritage and artisanry is recognized. Now, more than ever, we need an inclusive conversation with input from every corner of industry, from large-scale mining entities to craftspeople at the bench, if this prize is to be won.

We must recognize that the objects we craft, the techniques used in the crafting, and the impulse to make them (in sum, cultural tradition) are critical resources meriting protection. We must also recognize that the practice and preservation of cultural tradition is inextricably linked to human rights and responsible practice. This commitment to fair trade, ethical sourcing, and sustainable production is paramount for ethical luxury jewelry.

Conference Focus Areas for a more Sustainable Jewelry Future

With its eye on the prize, the Conference will consider the following:

• The consequences of accelerated climate change and the quest for a “just transition”
• How to protect human rights—broadly defined—in the precious metals, gemstone, and jewelry sectors
• Strategies by which producing nations can retain greater value in-country
• How to preserve natural resources, broadly defined to include craft, cultural traditions, and heritage.

The Conference will also consider Heritage Houses, an iconic watch brand, innovations in supply chain traceability, nomenclature underpinning clear discourse, artisanal makers pushing the boundaries of craft, and a major chapter in cultural restitution. We’ll also look closely at case studies demonstrating effective solutions across a range of challenges in the precious metals, gemstone, and jewelry sectors. Topics we will also touch upon include recycled gold and conflict-free diamonds.

"The Art and Culture’s Annual Gold & Diamonds Conferences offer an invaluable opportunity to engage with diverse and influential voices across the gold and wider jewellery world. I am honoured to join this crucial debate with industry leaders, policymakers and inspiring change-makers on fostering a more just, equal, and environmentally responsible industry. As an artist and activist, I welcome these essential conversations about a material so central to my practice, our environment, and the millions it affects worldwide." – Ute Decker

Critical Industry Questions towards Responsible Jewellery

We will also explore the most critical questions facing the industry:

• We will also explore the most critical questions facing the industry:
• How do we define models intended to achieve continued and measurable improvement across the industry that are, at the same time, respectful of cultures and established systems?
• How do we preserve antiquities and artifact that might be contested while respecting their origin and cultural importance? How do we address related questions of ownership?
• How do we meet the latest challenges facing the diamond and colored stones sectors?
• How do we ensure that the full spectrum of strategies for responsibly sourcing gold is recognized?
• How is the definition of “precious” evolving? How do we determine what is “precious,” whether in terms of material or practice? Is there a contemporary understanding of “precious” that is more accurate and equitable
• How do we ensure that craft and artisanry are passed on to the next generation and more broadly understood as humanity’s shared intangible cultural heritage? And in so doing, how might we redefine the notion of “heritage”?
• How can we translate a fuller awareness of human and cultural resources into positive market and customer expectations?

The preeminent global gathering of professionals in precious metals, gemstones, and jewelry, IAC’s Gold + Diamond Conference has, since 2011, brought together key players from industry, government, NGOs, academia, museums, and the collecting community, as well as jewelers, goldsmiths, and designers to discuss issues of critical importance, to seek common purpose regarding responsible jewelry practice, and to celebrate the highest standards in jewelry craft and design. IAC is known throughout the industry as a nonpartisan player and an ethically driven convener focused on creating an open forum for discourse, building consensus, and finding solutions for a more conscious and sustainable future for jewellery.

Speakers Include

• Ivor Agyeman-Duah (Central Bank of Ghana; Director, The Manhyia Palace Museum; adviser to the King of Asante; Ghana’s chief negotiator on restitution with the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Fowler Museum, and AngloGold Ashanti)
• Rob Bates (News Director, JCK)
• Charlie Betts (Managing Director, Betts Metals)
• Edward Bickham (Senior Advisor, World Gold Council)
• David Block (CEO, Sarine)
• Rachel Brandrick (Marketing Director, 886 by The Royal Mint)
• Brecken Branstrator (Editor-in-Chief, GemGuide)
• Brad Brooks-Rubin (Partner, Arktouros; former Senior Advisor, Office of Sanctions Coordination, US Department of State)
• Laurent E. Cartier (Head of Special Initiatives, Swiss Gemmological Institute; co-founder, Sustainable Pearls)
• Gaetano Cavalieri (President, CIBJO)
• Emefa Cole (Jeweler, goldsmith, and Curator, Jewelry of the Diaspora, Victoria & Albert Museum)
• Ute Decker (Artist-jeweler)
• Mark Emanuel (Co-owner, David Webb Jewelry)
• Lester Friedlander (President, Clover II Corporation)
• Shari Gittleman (Senior Director, Newmont)
• Donell Hutson (Design Director, Citizen Watch America)
• Estelle Levin-Nally (CEO | Board Member, Levin Resources)
• Nicolas Luchsinger (CEO, Buccellati)
• Holly McHugh (Vice President, Sustainability & Social Impact, Mejuri)
• Jennifer Moriconi (Chief Sustainability Officer, iTraceiT; President, OWIT Brussels)
• John Mulligan (Head of Sustainability Strategy, World Gold Council; President, Sustainable Development Commission, World Jewellery Confederation [CIBJO])
• Jaasi Munanka (Head of Legal Operations, Africa, AngloGold Ashanti)
• Barbara Palumbo (Watch and fine jewelry journalist; creator / editor, WhatsOnHerWrist.com)
• Rachel Perks (Senior Mining Specialist, Energy and Extractives Global Practice, The World Bank)
• Kyle Roderick (Journalist; founder and Editor-in-Chief, BIJOUXreview)
• Carl Rosen (Former Chief Marketing Officer and Museum Director, Bulova)
• Amish Shah (Founder & CEO, ALTR Created Diamonds and J’evar Co.)
• Lucian Simmons (Head of Provenance Research, The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
• Ruby Stocklin-Weinberg (Program Manager, GemFair, De Beers)
• Giorgio de Tomi (Professor, Polytechnic School and Director, Research Center for Responsible Mining, University of São Paolo)
• Ronnie VanderLinden (Vice President, World Diamond Council)
• Cristina Villegas (Founder / director, Nature’s Wealth)
• Lorraine West (Jewelry designer)
• Laurie Watt (Co-owner, Mayer & Watt)
• Simon Watt (Co-owner, Mayer & Watt)
• Kat Weymouth (Director, Diamond and Jewelry Services, SCS Global Services)
• Sara Yood (President, CEO & General Counsel, JVC)

Register  eventbrite.com/e/15th-annual-international-gold-and-diamond-conference-tickets

Eye on the Prize
15th International Gold + Diamond Conference 2025
Initiatives in Art and Culture 

July 14 (evening) - July 16, 2025

Bohemian National Hall
321 E 73rd St
New York, NY

utedecker.com

artinitiatives.com/2025-gold-diamonds-conference-eye-on-the-prize

Ute is also planning a small private exhibition – tbc - sign up to our newsletter to be notified  nearer July 2025.