IAC’s Precious Substances Conference

IAC has organized an annual, in-person conference devoted to gold, diamonds, and other precious substances since 2011. (The Conference took place virtually in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.) Using jewelry as a lens, the program takes a wide-ranging look at the rare and the magnificent, exploring different approaches to design and creation, to production (for example, artisanal vs. larger-scale mining), ethical sourcing, and responsible practice.

The 2022 conference, Boldly Building the Future, took take place July 18 – 20 in New York City, and explored the roots of jewelry’s enduring power, contemporary design and artistic vision, and evolving cultural attitudes toward jewelry. The conference also considered how to meet the imperatives of responsible sourcing and practice and environmental and social sustainability, imperatives fundamental to the UN’s SDGs. The timing of this conversation was driven by the “Decade of Action” (as articulated by civil society groups, governments, and corporations) in which we now live.