Destino wins GIA's Liddicoat award

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Destino wins GIA's Liddicoat award

November 26, 2008

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Ralph Destino, right, receives the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement from GIA President and CEO Donna Baker.

Carlsbad, Calif.--In tribute to his 16 years of "selfless and remarkable contributions," the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has bestowed Ralph Destino, the institute's chairman emeritus, with its highest honor, the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement.

GIA President and Chief Executive Officer Donna Baker presented the special honor to Destino during a Nov. 17 surprise ceremony at the institute's world headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., following the second 2008 GIA board of governors' meeting.

Initiated in 1994, the award was created to honor someone who demonstrates extraordinary commitment to furthering the GIA's mission. Destino is the 12th recipient of the Liddicoat Award, which is granted on an infrequent basis and only to individuals who truly exemplify excellence, the GIA said in a press release.

"This year, the Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement goes to an individual who truly embodies the characteristics that made Mr. Liddicoat so great, and who sets an example for all of us in our service to the industry and the public," Baker said in the release.

Destino's tenure as executive chairman of the GIA's board of governors, and then as GIA chairman, was characterized by "selfless and remarkable contributions," Baker added in a speech at the presentation.

"Your leadership, enthusiasm, professionalism and eloquence have distinguished you at GIA and helped strengthen our ability to fulfill our mission of protecting the public trust in gems and jewelry," Baker said.

Destino first joined the GIA's board of governors in 1992 and served as its executive chairman from 1997 to 2005, during which time he became chairman of the GIA. In addition, he played a key role in establishing the Carlsbad campus by serving as chair of the GIA's Vision 2000 Campaign starting in 1991. In 1997, he facilitated a generous philanthropic gift to the GIA Richard T. Liddicoat Library and Information Center on behalf of Cartier, naming it the Cartier Rare Book Repository and Archives.

Born and raised in Providence, R.I., Destino graduated from Dartmouth College. He joined Cartier in 1973 as president of Cartier Far East and became president of Cartier USA in 1976. He also led the advance of the company's wholesale division, Les Must de Cartier. Named chairman of Cartier in 1988, he retired in 1999 and was named its chairman emeritus.

A firm believer in service to the community and to the industry, Destino contributed his time and talent to more than 15 other organizations. In the gem and jewelry industry, Destino served as director of Van Cleef and Arpels, chair of the American Watch Guild, chair of the editorial advisory board of National Jeweler magazine, chair of the Jewelry Information Center, director of Jewelers of America and as a board member for the Fashion Institute of Technology.

He served as chair of the American Cancer Society in New York for 14 years, as a director of the United Way of New York City for more than 18 years and as a director of the Brain Trauma Foundation.

Destino has also been the recipient of the International Humanitarian Award from Boys' Towns of Italy, the Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League, the Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society, the Hall of Fame Award from the Diamond Industry Council and the Triple Zero Award from the American Gem Society.

In 1997, Destino was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and in 1999, he was inducted into National Jeweler's Retailer Hall of Fame.

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