Rio Grande Donates $150,000 to Institute

By Larne Boyles

Rio Grande, a leading American supplier of jewelry industry tools and equipment, has donated $150,000 to GIA’s Endowment Fund to provide scholarships for students who aspire to work in the gem and jewelry industry.

“We need more people with passion – passion for gems and passion for jewelry,” said Hugh Bell, president of The Bell Group/Rio Grande. “We hope our endowment will help a few of those with the aspiration, but not the means, find a way to become engaged with our fantastic industry through training at GIA.”

This is not the first time the company has contributed to the Institute. Alan Bell, director of The Bell Group/Rio Grande, was inducted into GIA’s 2003 Circle of Honor, which recognized the company’s non-cash donations of jewelry workbenches and other equipment for educational use over the years.

“We feel GIA’s mission, reputation and position in the industry are all vital to the long-term health and vitality of the jewelry business,” Hugh Bell said. “We all benefit from the common vocabulary and shared knowledge of gemstones that GIA provides the industry. We need this because it gives us the tools and skills to do our job correctly and with integrity.”

Bell will join other industry leaders who have also given to GIA when he is inducted into the Institute’s League of Honor during its annual dinner in New York City Oct. 12. The prestigious event recognizes the philanthropic generosity of those who contribute $100,000 or more to the Institute. A classroom in Carlsbad will also be named for the company.

Bell credits his parents for encouraging his enthusiasm and willingness to support students who want to join the jewelry industry. His mother imparted a passion for gemology on her children that stemmed from her GIA Distance Education studies and laboratory training with the Institute’s late chairman, Richard T. Liddicoat, in the 1950s. Bell said he and his brothers, Eddie and Alan, learned the valuable lesson of generosity from their father. 

“My father, who founded Rio Grande, taught us to try and give more in life than we take,” Bell said. “I feel our company and the rest of the industry has gotten a great deal from GIA. It is appropriate for us to give some back.”