By Emily Marchick

There are certain events in life that challenge everything you've previously known. That's what GIA's 4th International Gemological Symposium did for me.

The three-day event gave me a chance to listen, ask questions and lend my voice to the discussion – right alongside important figures in the industry whom I consider to be far beyond my scope of knowledge and experience. But in this forum, it seemed we were all learning together.

It began in the opening ceremony, where I felt an overwhelming sense of unity between so many different types of people, from different parts of the world. We were all there to celebrate the success of the jewelry industry's past, define its current state and plan for its future.

I was inspired by CEOs like Glenn Rothman of Hearts On Fire, who talked one-on-one with me about his ideas on branding and his genuine love for making people feel beautiful with jewelry. He encouraged me to contact him with further thoughts or questions.

I met Paula Crevoshay, a designer from New Mexico, while waiting in line for lunch. She showed me her beautifully handcrafted pieces made with stones from around the world and shared her view of jewelry as one-of-a-kind pieces of art that highlight the light and internal beauty of stones.

I couldn't get enough, couldn't talk to enough people, because it seemed that once I got the answer to one question, a whole new subject came up that I wanted to know everyone's opinion on – especially the fast-changing distribution channels and the role of the Internet in our industry.

Martin Rapaport, chairman of the Rapaport Group of Companies, who spoke of fair trade diamonds in his panel speech, really stands out in my mind as someone I admire. Instead of paying miners a cup of rice for their work extracting diamonds from the earth, let's give them a substantial amount of money to help themselves and their society, he said. He suggested we leverage ourselves and our positions to make helpful changes in the world. In an industry that depends on value, are we able to feel good by being good?

This rang true for me as I sat in on other sessions and panels, observed lunchtime interactions, shared drinks with other attendees and made new acquaintances at social events. I realized that as individuals it's easy to feel out of touch and incapable of creating change, but working together as an industry, we can be demanding, persistent and make a significant difference through the way we conduct business. Just as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright mentioned in the opening session, how we treat our employees and suppliers – from start to finish – is one of the most important ways we can exemplify democracy and freedom.

Providing people with beautiful pieces of jewelry is only part of our industry's role; we also have the opportunity to be leaders in promoting good in the world.

My participation in Symposium made me realize that whether we are partners or competitors, our common goal is to ensure the jewelry industry is ready for the future. As I try to decipher where my own place is in this multifaceted business, I realize there are many options to pursue if I allow myself to dream big.

I want to use my role in the jewelry industry to help promote positive change in the world. This industry changes so quickly, and I hope my knowledge of international jewelry markets will inspire me to think of the world at large, instead of focusing only on my personal success.