Speaking yesterday to members of the Canova Club, an exclusive Italian association of opinion leaders and decision makers from the country’s economic, finance and business communities, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has described what he termed as an essential shift in thinking in the jewellery industry, where the attitude towards artisanal and small-scale mining is changing from it being considered a challenge, to being more of an opportunity.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2019 annual congress in Manama, the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, from November 18 to November 20. Pre-congress meetings will be held November 16 and 17, and the congress will follow the World Pearl Forum, which is due to take place on November 14 and 15.

Transparency in business is enabled when all terminology and metrics are accepted and understood by all participants, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has told a gemmological conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. When a common business language is in place, and its rules and terms are publicly available, then the necessary elements exist for members of the business community to work together, to trust one another and to properly serve their consumers, he said.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has released a simplified guide to ethical and responsible practices in the handling and trading of diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls and coral, and has made it available for downloading in PDF format from the CIBJO website, in multiple languages, free of charge.

Strict adherence to agreed-to grading standards, nomenclature and methods of testing are prerequisites for the development of the gemstone and jewellery industries in China, which are keen to establish a leading position internationally, and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri told audiences in Hong Kong last week.

CIBJO’s new Responsible Sourcing Blue Book highlighted a well-attended seminar at the VICENZAORO January jewellery trade show in Vicenza, Italy, on January 19, which also featured the precious coral sector as a case study for sustainability.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, and the Federation for European Education (FEEG) in Gemmology, will be presenting a day-long conference at the VICENZAORO January jewellery trade show, organised by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), in Vicenza on Saturday, January 19, where the principle focus will be on issues related to responsible sourcing and gemmology.

The Board of Directors of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has approved the first edition of the Responsible Sourcing Book, which provides a framework and guidance for due diligence related to the responsible sourcing of gemstones and precious metals in the jewellery sector. It becomes the latest in CIBJO’s Blue Book series of definitive industry guides for standards and nomenclature, joining the Blue Books for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, precious coral, precious metals and gemmological laboratories.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has been certified as being carbon neutral in 2017, which is the fifth straight year that offset its greenhouse gas emissions through the purchase of carbon credits. It did so as part of the CIBJO Greenhouse Gas Measurement Initiative that was launched several years ago to promote environmental consciousness and responsibility in the jewellery and gemstone industries.

The 2018 CIBJO Congress concluded yesterday in Bogotá, Colombia, after three days of official business, which followed two days of steering committee meetings. The final day of the congress was marked by a visit by Colombia’s Vice President, Marta Lucia Ramirez.