The colored stone industry lost one of its true leaders with the passing of Jean Claude Michelou (see above) on May 3 at the age of 72. Mr. Michelou graduated from the London School of International Business and began selling emeralds in Colombia in 1977. The business he later established, Imperial Colors Ltd., specializes in rough buying, grading, and cutting of emerald, tourmaline, beryl, and sapphire. He relocated the company to Bangkok in 2018.
Mr. Michelou was active with the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), serving as a board member for 18 years and as vice president for 10 years. In 2004, he founded ICA’s quarterly magazine, InColor, and was its editor-in-chief until his retirement earlier this year. He was also a consultant for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, and other agencies on developing standards for the colored stone industry. In addition, he served on the advisory board for the University of Delaware’s Gemstones and Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub and organized the World Emerald Symposiums held in Bogotá since 2015.
For more than a decade before his passing, Mr. Michelou had been deeply involved in several beneficiation projects in source countries, including the Swat Valley emerald deposits of Pakistan and a Nigerian sapphire mining venture. He shared his insights on supply chain transparency and beneficiation with G&G in the Spring 2018 issue (Gem News International, pp. 93–94). Over the years, Mr. Michelou was a valuable source of knowledge for this journal and a mentor to many young industry professionals. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.
The colored stone industry lost one of its true leaders with the passing of Jean Claude Michelou (see above) on May 3 at the age of 72. Mr. Michelou graduated from the London School of International Business and began selling emeralds in Colombia in 1977. The business he later established, Imperial Colors Ltd., specializes in rough buying, grading, and cutting of emerald, tourmaline, beryl, and sapphire. He relocated the company to Bangkok in 2018.
Mr. Michelou was active with the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), serving as a board member for 18 years and as vice president for 10 years. In 2004, he founded ICA’s quarterly magazine, InColor, and was its editor-in-chief until his retirement earlier this year. He was also a consultant for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, and other agencies on developing standards for the colored stone industry. In addition, he served on the advisory board for the University of Delaware’s Gemstones and Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub and organized the World Emerald Symposiums held in Bogotá since 2015.
For more than a decade before his passing, Mr. Michelou had been deeply involved in several beneficiation projects in source countries, including the Swat Valley emerald deposits of Pakistan and a Nigerian sapphire mining venture. He shared his insights on supply chain transparency and beneficiation with G&G in the Spring 2018 issue (Gem News International, pp. 93–94). Over the years, Mr. Michelou was a valuable source of knowledge for this journal and a mentor to many young industry professionals. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.
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