Robert Wan and Jacques Branellec Receive JNA Lifetime Achievement Awards

Jewelry News Asia has just released the news: top honors go to two pioneers of the pearling world, Robert Wan and Jacques Branellec. There is no question that these men have devoted their lives to every aspect of pearling, from farming the most beautiful pearls in the world, to the creation of stunning jewelry to showcase their magnificence.

Pearl Guide Salutes Them!

Robert Wan and Jacques Branellec.jpg
Robert Wan / Jacques Branellec. Photos courtesy of Jewelry News Asia.

Press release:

JNA Awards Honouring Firmin Robert Wan, Jacques Branellec with Highest Accolade

PR Newswire
Aug. 30, 2017, 12:48 AM

HONG KONG, Aug. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The sixth annual JNA Awards is honouring two trailblazers in the cultured pearl industry with the Lifetime Achievement Award, the awards programme's most prestigious accolade reserved for individuals whose vision and leadership have a positive and enduring impact on the world around them. *

Firmin Robert Wan, the "Pearl Emperor of Tahiti," and Jacques Branellec, a pioneer in the cultivation of the golden South Sea pearl, are the recipients of the JNA Awards' highest recognition this year. This also marks the first time that the awards programme is presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to two individuals.

Wan, founder of the Robert Wan Group, is widely credited for bringing the Tahitian pearl into the forefront of the fine jewellery industry, while Branellec, who co-founded Jewelmer with Filipino entrepreneur Manuel Cojuangco, is known for his groundbreaking work in the cultivation of golden South Sea pearls.

"I am extremely delighted and thankful to be the recipient of this prestigious award. Thank you JNA Awards for recognising my contributions to the jewellery industry. I have devoted my entire life to this fascinating gem. Today, I dedicate the pearl to all women who will succumb to its eternal beauty forever," Wan shared upon receiving the news of the award.

Branellec joined in, "I am deeply honoured to receive JNA's Lifetime Achievement Award. To me, it means that if one believes in rightfulness and innovates with the best intention, one will be rewarded beyond expectation. Having spent 47 years in the pearl industry, I keep in mind that humility is the key to success: to honour one's beginnings and to stay faithful to one's origins. Whether you are a manager or a pearl farmer, I believe it is important to associate value not with economic success but simply with the thought that you are a captain who has brought his ship safe to the right destination."

These two industry pillars, together with 34 Honourees that have been shortlisted across 10 categories, will be feted at the highly anticipated JNA Awards ceremony and gala dinner scheduled for 14 September in Hong Kong during the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair.

The JNA Awards is supported by Headline Partners Chow Tai Fook and Shanghai Diamond Exchange, together with Honoured Partners KGK Group, Rio Tinto Diamonds, Guangdong Gems & Jade Exchange, and Guangdong Land Holdings Limited.

The much-anticipated awards ceremony and gala dinner is a ticketed event by application only. Interested parties can book their seats now by submitting an online application form.
To read more for JNA Awards 2017 shortlisted Honourees, please visit http://www.jnaawards.com/Results/2017/
For more information, visit*http://www.JNAawards.com/*or contact:
JNA Awards Marketing*
UBM Asia (Hong Kong)*
+852 2516-2184
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Editor's Note: One of the shortlisted Honourees is our own Pearl Guide member, Justin Hunter, for Sustainability Initiative of the Year, J Hunter Pearls Fiji (Ltd)

Blaire Beavers
Managing Editor
Pearl Guide News
 
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