London Career Fair

London is one of the great international gem and jewelry centers, and an ideal location for GIA Jewelry Career Fair. GIA has been hosting Career Fairs for more than 25 years in California and New York, and 2018 marks our first Career Fair in London. The event will be hosted at the Goldsmiths' Hall.

Career Fair is free to job seekers and the public.

Job seekers will have the opportunity to meet with recruiters from gem and jewelry companies of all sizes. Listen to industry VIPs share their insights on the trade, participate in a career coaching session and take time to network with employers and colleagues.

Company representatives and recruiters will meet dozens of quality candidates, passionate about the industry, to fill their open positions. Job seekers encompass a wide range of skills and experience, and include recent GIA graduates and current students as well as experienced professionals looking for the next step in their career.

DAY AT A GLANCE – April 5, 2019

Registration
11:30 am – 12:00 pm
Front foyer

Welcome
12:00 – 12:10 pm
Livery Hall

"Job Success in Today's Market"
12:10 – 1:30 pm
Livery Hall

Recruiting
1:30 – 4:15 pm
Drawing Room

Career Coaching
1:45 – 4:15 pm
(appointment taking 11:30 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 – 4:00 pm in Exhibition Room)

Careers Fair Concludes
4:15 pm

WELCOME

Mehdi Saadian
Director, London School
GIA

JOB SUCCESS IN TODAY’S MARKET

Hear what leading industry executives have to say about what it takes to succeed in today’s market. Learn how industry trends are creating job opportunities. Gain insight and guidance about the skills and expertise employers want when they’re looking to hire.

Moderator
Susan M. Jacques
President & CEO
GIA

Panelists

Peter Buckie
Director
Jem Services

Henry Deakin
Director of Sales
Deakin & Francis

Harriet Kelsall
Founder and Chair
Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery

Fei Liu
Director
Fei Liu Jewellery

Faris Saif
Associate
Sotheby's

Additional panelists to be announced

Peter Buckie
Director
Jem Services

Peter is the principal appraiser at Jewellery Evaluation & Mediation Services, and is generally acknowledged as one of the UK’s leading independent jewellery valuers. Peter is regularly invited by various institutions and associations to lecture, give seminars and run workshops on appraisal theory. He also consults for the insurance industry and carries out a multiplicity of work for HM Revenue & Customs and other governmental agencies. Peter is a consultant appraiser to several prestigious retail jewellery houses, including: Asprey London, Cartier Paris, Harrods Fine Jewellery, Cleave & Company (Court Jewellers) and Ritz Fine Jewellery.

Peter was one of the first jewellers to achieve the status of a National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) Registered Valuer. He was also the first recipient of the NAJ Institute of Registered Valuers David Wilkins Award, which carries the citation ‘In recognition of an individual’s outstanding skill, dedication and/or service in respect of jewellery appraisal and valuation.’

Henry Deakin
Director of Sales
Deakin & Francis

Henry Deakin is the seventh generation in his family to manage Deakin & Francis – a designer and manufacturer of some of the world’s finest cufflinks.

Over the years, Deakin spent time watching his father at work in the jewellery business. He attended trade shows in London and Switzerland, and studied gemmology in Italy at the International Gemological Institute in Vicenza. He is also a Graduate Gemmologist and jewellery designer. After completing his education, Deakin moved to New York to work for Aspreys. Deakin noted that this position taught him much about retailing and customer service.

In 2008, Deakin joined Deakin & Francis, focusing on meeting existing customers and identifying new accounts. He spent his first year travelling around the north of England, Ireland and Brussels. Deakin is now responsible for the day-to-day management of the business, as well as looking after a number of private accounts.

Susan M. Jacques became GIA’s president and CEO in January 2014. She received her GIA Graduate Gemologist (GG) diploma in 1980 and is a Fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. Early in her career, Jacques joined Borsheim’s Fine Jewelry and Gifts in Omaha, Nebraska. Jacques was appointed president and CEO in 1994 by Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., which had acquired Borsheim’s in 1989. She is active in several trade organizations, is a board member of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, and has served on the boards of Creighton University, Jewelers of America, and Jewelers for Children. She joined the GIA Board of Governors in 1996 and was chair from 2008 until 2014.

Harriet Kelsall
Founder and Chair
Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery

Harriet Kelsall is one of the most respected designers and business trailblazers in the UK jewellery industry. Author of The Creative's Guide to Starting a Business: How to turn your talent into a career (shortlisted in The Business Book Awards, 2019), Harriet is also chair of the National Association of Jewellers and a non-executive director of the Responsible Jewellery Council and the British Hallmarking Council. She is also a regular keynote speaker on ethics, a government advisor on jewellery skills and an international lecturer.

Fei Liu
Director
Fei Liu Jewellery

International award-winning designer Fei Liu founded the eponymous brand Fei Liu Fine Jewellery in 2006. Liu’s designs are a marriage of his Eastern heritage and Western design. His portfolio of jewels are heavily influenced by the charms of nature – the taking of intricate details and turning them into delicately sculpted pieces sparkling with vivid, colourful stones. For his bespoke designs, the stones are specially handpicked and designed around the feature stones, so every design is unique to the wearer and cannot be reproduced. Liu’s designs are a refined mix of femininity and elegance.

Mehdi Saadian
Director, London School
GIA

Mehdi Saadian became director of GIA’s London campus in 2015. He started his career in the jewellery industry in London as the store manager for a high-end jeweller and later worked as a jewellery quality control inspector. Mehdi’s responsibilities included stone buying and working with jewellers and designers in the production of handmade jewellery. Since joining GIA in 2008, he has taught gemmology classes at the London campus and managed the education team.

Faris Saif
Associate
Sotheby's

Faris Saif is a GIA Graduate Gemologist and works at Sotheby’s Diamonds, New Bond Street, London. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, Faris completed his GG at GIA in Carlsbad. Faris’s interest in jewellery started in the Middle East, where he was surrounded by fine jewels from around the world. His passion for jewellery and watches grew when he worked at his family’s Saudi Arabia-based jewellery business.