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New York--A change at the top of J.C. Penney Co. Inc.’s board of directors and a new member of the exclusive 24 Karat Club of the City of New York were among the major appointments of late in the jewelry industry.

J.C. Penney announced on Jan. 10 that Thomas J. Engibous will succeed former company CEO Myron E. Ullman III as chairman of its board of directors, effective Jan. 28.

Engibous, the retired chairman of Texas Instruments Incorporated, was named to the J.C. Penney board in 1999 and has served in presiding director and lead independent director roles since 2008. He served as the president and CEO of Texas Instruments from 1996 to 2004 after joining the company in 1976. He also is a director of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.

Jeffrey Singer, co-founder of jewelry buying company Circa, was inducted into the prestigious 24 Karat Club of the City of New York earlier this month, an elite group of industry leaders. Membership is by invitation only and is limited to 200 people. 

A third-generation player in the estate and antique jewelry industry, Singer’s career has spanned nearly 25 years, beginning in 1987 when he joined M and L Singer, his family’s estate jewelry business, providing more than 100 U.S. retail stores with estate jewelry.

After the second generation retired in 1990, Singer established L and J Singer. It was during this time that he, along with other in the jewelry industry, formed the New York Jewelers Group, which still exists today.

In 2001, Singer co-founded SellJewelry with partner Chris Del Gatto, which was rebranded as Circa in 2006. In his role as vice president of Circa, Singer serves as one of the company’s foremost experts on period pieces and watches and oversees the day-to-day operations of Circa’s domestic satellite operations.

The American Gem Society Laboratories LLC recently announced the appointment of Alethea Inns to the newly created position of director of diamond grading.

Inns holds an Hons. B.Sc. in geology from McMaster University in Canada and her Graduate Gemologist (in residence), Accredited Jewelry Professional, Graduate Pearls and Jewelry Business Management credentials from the Gemological Institute of America.

Inns began her career at GIA’s Gem Trade Laboratory in the Diamond Grading and Gem Identification departments. She worked at becoming an expert in a wide range of gemological materials and techniques, including grading, advanced testing, research and evaluation.

In mid-December, Tiffany & Co. announced that Stephane Lafay had been appointed to the newly created position of group vice president for the Asia-Pacific region and President of Tiffany Japan.

The 46-year-old Lafay joined Tiffany in 2009 as president of Tiffany’s Japan organization. A search is underway to find a managing director of Japan who will report to Lafay.

Tiffany will continue to report results separately for Asia-Pacific and Japan.