June 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

June 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 20 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | June 2021 21 W hile some readers may have expected Pandora’s divorce from natural diamonds to headline this month’s feature story, that will be taken up in next month’s issue, where we will discuss why the world’s largest jewelry maker decided to create, set, and sell their own lab-grown diamonds in their jewelry. Featured interviews are scheduled to include: Alexander Lacik, Pandora’s CEO; Chris Schraeder, Director of Global Marketing at Carbon Neutral/National Capital Partners; and Mike Zamis, Chief Product Officer with Sphera, a safety and sustainability evaluations firm standing behind Pandora and Carbon Neutral’s eco-friendly product stewardship claims. “Figures don’t lie…” may seem like the start of a famed Mark Twain quote, but history proves otherwise. Modernized as “numbers don’t lie,” the first similar reference dates back to 1884 when an anonymous source offered “Figures won’t lie” as three words of wisdom printed in a North Dakota newspaper. [https://quoteinvestigator. com/2010/11/15/liars-figure/] The reason this quote and its origin are called out is to remind us of two things. First, numbers are like facts – they are accurate and uncontestable. Or they should be. Secondly, the source of any important set of numbers must be just as reliable as the numbers. So, whoever is cultivating and presenting the data is also representing the data. When trust is as critical as the statistics, the list of go-to individuals is rather select.When an exclusive diamond filter is applied, that list of individuals becomes elite.This month, we’re honored to feature Edahn Golan, and learn why the jewelry industry routinely relies upon his diamond digits. Diamond Determination The finest analysts don’t just offer statistics; they track trends, forecast the future of a sector, and create context to their number-focused content. In the category of global diamond data, Edahn Golan is among the most quoted. The founder of Edahn Golan Diamond Research &Data, an independent research house specializing in the economy of the global diamond industry, Golan offers insightful analytics to what he calls an “ununderstood industry.” This, coming from someone who didn’t grow up in the diamond industry or even foresee diamonds in his professional future. Yet, it is diamonds, and their related chain of statistics that encircle Golan’s world, and have since 2001. He understands the underpinnings of the diamond trade and is fascinated by the industry and its players. He also knows how to deliver news. Edahn Golan’s college degree focused on broadcast communications, which lead him to a television career. He started at a news program on the entertainment cable channel, USA Network , then moved to directing music videos and a wide variety of television segments, most with a hard news and technological orientation. Shifting from a proven, mass audience television career to an unproven, niche internet start-up is daring. Even more daunting, Golan dove into diamonds – a specialized industry that he knew next to nothing about at the time. And he did so when the diamond sector was just starting to swim in uncharted digital waters. Enter IDEXOnline and Golan’s role as its first Editor-in-Chief. From day one, an unexpected triad of responsibilities placed him as the only diamond researcher, writer, and executive editor for IDEX, which he accepted in stride. He would go on to be a key factor in IDEX’s growth during his twelve- year tenure. Q: What motivated you to make such an extreme career pivot, and how did you adapt so quickly to the diamond industry? After nearly a decade of directing, I felt that I had enough. I lost interest in the field and wanted to do something new and exciting. I always had an interest in technology and, during the time I lived in San Francisco, I started playing around with the pre-http internet before there were websites. At the time, there was a thriving scene of small hubs called BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems) that you could dial into with your computer. I created such a BBS that offered translated press news. This ran for a few years while I continued with my directing career. When I eventually decided to seek a new career, a friend introduced me to IDEX, which at the time was in the final stages of building its diamond trading platform and was considering adding a news component to it. It was a perfect match. I knew how a newsroom worked, had some knowledge in programming, and a background in how the Net worked. Because I’m curious by nature, having a grand opportunity to see from the inside how the diamond industry works was golden. Very quickly I was hooked. The approach that I had towards our news coverage was that we needed to provide two components: information and context. In addition, we had to be fiercely independent from outside pressures and fit the needs of a busy diamond trader. So, a well-rounded news story should have a descriptive headline and the main facts of the story in the first paragraph, and the rest is context.This way, those in a hurry get the main facts right off, and if you choose to read on, you can go deeper into the topic. Over time, IDEX expanded its content activity and bought Mazal U’Bracha Magazine from Tacy, rebranded it as IDEXMagazine , and brought in Wall Street analyst Ken Gassman. Between the data on the trading platform and the knowledge Ken brought, we had a great starting point for industry research activity.After several years of doing hard news, it was a fascinating new direction for me to grow. IDEXOnline‘s home page as it appears today thanks to the launch and over a decade of contributions from Edahn Golan, IDEX’s first Editor-in-Chief. Snapshot of Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data’s client list, which reads like a “Who’s Who” of the diamond industry. (Graphic: edahngolan.com) >>