Education and training will be key to helping artisanal gemstone diggers achieve better lives and livelihoods, a panel at the CIBJO Congress 2023 has heard. The session featured a discussion about future steps that need to be taken to bring in more effective responsible sourcing in the coloured gemstone industry.

Building partnerships and new multi-stakeholder initiatives will be key towards creating a more sustainable future in the global jewellery industry, senior jewellery brand executives said in a panel discussion on the first day of the CIBJO Congress in Jaipur, India.

The global trade has embraced a homogeneous declaration of all coloured gemstone treatments, which is now incorporated into the CIBJO Coloured Stone Blue Books, said Emmanuel Piat, Vice President of the Coloured Stone Commission, who chaired the session of the body on October 4, the second day of the 2023 CIBJO Congress.

Imparting education about intellectual property (IP) law can protect careers of members of the jewellery industry including designers, a panel heard. The discussion took part on October 3, 2023, during the Ethics Commission session at the CIBJO Congress.

Gemfields, a leading industrial miner of rubies and emeralds in Mozambique and in Zambia, called for a focus by downstream market players on the “mine of origin” rather than country of origin in order to boost traceability.

Senior jewellery industry leaders, in a panel discussion conducted on the opening day of the 2023 CIBJO Congress in Jaipur, India, called for the delivery of more freely available data and better education by jewellery industry bodies to foster best practices.

The 2023 CIBJO Congress has opened in Jaipur, India, with calls for greater collaboration across the sector to protect members of the industry and boost prosperity.

Prepared by the CIBJO Technology Committee, headed by Stéphane Fischler, the report looks at the impacts of new technologies on the jewellery industry, and in particular those related to artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and big data.

Prepared by the CIBJO Coral Commission, headed by Vincenzo Liverino, the report considers the continuing knowledge gap prevalant not only among consumers, but also among large part of the industry, which leads many to conflating precious coral species with other varieties, among them reef corals afflicted by global warming and ocean acidification.

Prepared by the CIBJO Pearl Commission, headed by Kenneth Scarratt, the report considers how public demand and legislation are requiring pearl producers to provide science-based evidence of compliance with accepted environmental standards.