Jerry Ehrenwald, who spent 28 years as president of the North American division of the International Gemological Institute (IGI), died on March 6 at age 77.
Ehrenwald joined IGI in 1981 and, 10 years later, became head of the North America segment and a partial owner. During his time with the lab, he was elected to the board of the US Kimberley Process Authority (USKPA), which controls the use of Kimberley Process (KP) certificates for rough-diamond exports from the US. Following his appointment, USKPA ran its operations out of IGI’s facilities.
In 2019, Ehrenwald left IGI following its sale the previous year to Chinese corporate giant Fosun. He went on to found the Laboratory Grown Diamond Exchange (LGDEX) platform.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
“The IGI team extends our deepest condolences to his loved ones for their loss,” an IGI spokesperson said. “Jerry Ehrenwald joined IGI in 1981 and helped make the institute what it is today. As a man of many ideas, constantly striving to innovate, Jerry was ahead of his time. He introduced the concept of jewelry certification to the industry and was a pioneer in laser-inscription technology…. Jerry’s contributions to the institute are expansive and his legacy to the industry will be revered for a lifetime.”
Main image: An IGI-certified, round brilliant-cut diamond. (Shutterstock)
WhatsApp
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn