With the international jewellery and gemstone industry grappling with the challenge of a worldwide economic shutdown, instituted by governments in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, CIBJO has announced that it will no longer be charging for downloads of its Blue Book series of industry standards and nomenclature.

The CIBJO Blue Books are definitive sets of grading standards and nomenclature for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, coral, precious metals and gemmological laboratories, and also responsible sourcing practices. With an almost complete absence of jewellery industry standards endorsed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO), they are the most widely accepted set of rules and terminology, and have been recognized as such by the courts in the European Union, and by various governments and regulatory bodies around the world.

“Given the scale of the current crisis, this clearly is a modest gesture, but one that we are keen to make,” said Gaetano Cavalieri, the CIBJO President. “Like so many other economic sectors, the jewellery business is largely at a standstill. But that is temporary, and when the markets begin moving again we believe that progress will be supported by all members of our industry working in unison, with a common set of rules and practices. That is what the Blue Books promote.”

The Blue Books are compiled and are consistently updated – year and year out – by the various CIBJO Commissions. Their standards represent a consensus derived from the broad expertise on the subject within the commissions, and also from individuals outside the commissions who have expressed an interest in participating in the development of the guidelines.

The application of the Blue Books’ standards is voluntary. However, it is recommended that these standards should apply to all persons, partnerships and corporations at all stages of the jewellery chain of distribution, from the initial sourcing of all industry products up to and including the creation of jewellery.

All seven Blue Books can be downloaded at no cost from a dedicated page on the CIBJO website, located at: https://www.cibjo.org/introduction-to-the-blue-books-2/.