Veteran journalist Russell Shor has been chosen as the winner of the American Gem Society's Richard T. Liddicoat™ Journalism Award in the category of Industry/Trade Reporting for his Fall 2005 G&G article "A Review of the Political and Economic Forces Shaping Today’s Diamond Industry." In this article, Mr. Shor examined the developments that have transformed every sector of the diamond industry over the past 15 years. These included the shift to a multi-channel rough pipeline, the advent of commercially viable synthetics, the Kimberley Process, the popularity of large “bling-bling” jewelry, the explosion of diamond branding, and several others.

Mr. Shor, who has served as GIA's senior industry analyst for the past five years, also writes an industry news column that appears in the GIA Insider, the Institute's  biweekly electronic newsletter. He has spent more than 25 years as a journalist in the diamond trade for publications such as Jewelers Circular Keystone, New York Diamonds, and GemKey.

Awards will be presented at the American Gem Society Circle of Distinction Dinner on Tuesday, August 1, at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center during the Jewelers of America New York Show. Each recipient will receive a check for $1,500 and a crystal plaque; also, the Society will donate $1,000 to the Richard T. Liddicoat Scholarship Fund at the Gemological Institute of America in the name of each winner.

Named after the late chairman of GIA, the awards honor journalists who have made exceptional contributions to the understanding of gemology as well as AGS's ideals of ethics, education, and consumer protection.

Mr. Shor's article also received third place in this year's Dr. Edward J. Gubelin Most Valuable Article Award, as voted by G&G readers.