The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has honoured Ralph Destino, GIA chairman emeritus, with its Richard T. Liddicoat Award for Distinguished Achievement, the highest tribute bestowed by the Institute. Destino received the award at the hands of GIA President and Chief Executive Officer Donna Baker at a surprise ceremony at the Institute’s world headquarters in Carlsbad, Calif., following the second 2008 GIA Board of Governors’ meeting on November 17, 2008.

The award was initiated in 1994 for honouring an individual who truly exemplify excellence and extraordinary commitment to furthering the Institute’s mission. The award is granted on an infrequent basis. Destino is the 12th recipient of the Liddicoat Award.

Baker said, “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 narrated the extraordinary work undertaken by Destino, having been on the Institutes Board of Governors, chairman of GIA, establishing the Carlsbad campus by serving as chair of GIA’s Vision 2000 Campaign, facilitating a philanthropic gift to the GIA Richard T. Liddicoat Library and Information Center on behalf of Cartier, naming the Cartier Rare Book Repository & Archives.

In the gem and jewellery industry, Destino served as director of Van Cleef & Arpels Inc., 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 has been recognized with awards like 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. Ellis Island Medal of Honor and in 1999 he was inducted into the Retail Jewelers Hall of Fame.

Destino said, “I am doubly grateful to receive this award, first because it carries the name of a man I hugely admired, and, second, because it comes from an Institute whose name is synonymous with the highest level of integrity”.