Gaetano Cavalieri, President of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), has highlighted the foundational role played by the Turkish people over thousands of years in the development of the jewellery arts and tradition.
Development of clear sustainability strategies now imperative,
CIBJO President tells graduate students during Milan lecture
CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri lecturing to graduate students of the Fashion Accessories & Jewellery Design & Management programme of the School of Design at the Politecnico di Milano on February 28, 2024.
MARCH 4, 2024
The development of coherent and well communicated strategies that address environmental and social sustainability issues, responsible sourcing and proper governance are now management requestites in the jewellery gemstone and precious metals industries, Gaetano Cavalieri, President of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has told an international group of graduate students during a lecture he delivered on February 28, 2024, at the Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy.
Dr. Cavalieri addressed the group of students, who are enrolled in the Fashion Accessories & Jewellery Design & Management programme of the Schoil of Design of the Politecnico di Milano, one of the world’s leading design institutes and a renowned jewellery industry research and education body, which is offered in cooperation with the POLIMI Graduate School of Management at the Politecnico di Milano.
His almost two-hour lecture traced the development of CSR, sustainability and ESG principles in the jewellery industry, and considered how these today need to be incorporated in the business and marketing plans of companies operating in the sector.
“If one is asked why we have committed ourselves to the principles of sustainability, CSR, ESG and responsible sourcing, our first response should always must be because it is the right thing to do,” the CIBJO President said. However, he added, “It also makes good business sense.”
Consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental and social impacts of the goods they purchase, and when they view them as positive it becomes a marker of status in luxury, he said. Jewellery consumers want their purchases both to align with and reflect their own values and priorities, he stated.
“I strongly believe that, by committing to sustainability, our industry is able to redefine the value proposition of our products in the public consciousness,” he told the graduate class. “Not only are they objets d’art and symbols of love and devotion, but they also are instruments that actively serve to create better and more sustainable societies. When consumers buy jewellery, they should feel that they are not only doing something for themselves and their loved ones, but for the world and society as well.”
“I strongly believe that, by committing to sustainability, our industry is able to redefine the value proposition of our products in the public consciousness,” CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri told the graduate students.
Vice President Kenneth Scarratt to present new CIBJO Academy
on February 23 at 2024 Bangkok Gem & Jewelry Fair
FEBRUARY 13, 2024
CIBJO Vice President Kenneth Scarratt will present to the trade the programme of the new CIBJO Academy during the 69th Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair.
The presentation will take place on Friday, February 23, 2024, in Meeting Room 110C, on Level 1 of the Queen Sikrit National Convention Center, the venue of Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
The CIBJO Academy, which was established in 2023, is responsible for the preparation and delivery of educational programmes and materials, suitable for jewellery professionals and the consuming public, about standards, operating principles and terminology developed within CIBJO’s various commissions and expert committees. Mr. Scarratt is its Founding Dean.
The essential course materials for the CIBJO Academy are the various CIBJO Blue Books and and guides, relating to the entire spectrum of the gemstone and jewellery industries, covering natural diamonds, laboratory-grown diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, coral, precious metals, principles of responsible sourcing, the operation of gem laboratories, marketing, ethics and legal issues, and more.
One of the world’s most respected gemmologists, over his 50-year career Mr. Scarratt has been the CEO of the Bahrain Institute of Pearls & Gemstones (DANAT), Managing Director for SE Asia for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Laboratory Director for the AGTA (American Gem Trade Association) Gemological Testing Center in New York, Director of AIGS (Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences) in Bangkok, Chief Executive and Laboratory Director GAGTL (Gemmological Association & Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain) in London, and Managing Partner at ICA|GemLab in Bangkok. He has published papers extensively in such journals as The Journal of Gemmology (UK), Gems and Gemology (USA) and many others. He co-authored the books “The Crown Jewels,” and “The Pearl & the Dragon.” He also is President of CIBJO’s Sector A, which oversees all gem materials, President of the CIBJO Pearl Commission and Vice President of the organisation’s Coral Commission.
“The CIBJO Academy was created to make accessible to the jewellery industry the massive body of work, including trade standards and principles, and harmonized terminology and nomenclature, which is produced, refined and updated on a constant basis by the various commissions and special committees operating under the umbrella of our World Jewellery Confederation,” said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri. “We are extremely fortunate to have a world-class expert of the calibre of Ken Scarratt heading the new body, and I strongly recommend that participants and visitor to the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair take advantage of this special opportunity.”
CIBJO releases guidance document outlining ESG principles
for companies operating in the laboratory-grown diamond sector
JANUARY 25, 2024
The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has released a guidance document outlining environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles for companies primarily involved in the laboratory-grown diamond sector.
Entitled “Environmental, Social and Governance Principles for Laboratory-Grown Diamonds,” the new guidance document is designed to assist laboratory-grown diamond companies to devise sustainable strategies that contribute to long-term business value creation, and to satisfy consumer expectations around environmental and social responsibility. It also aims to support companies facing the likelihood of greater ESG regulatory requirements imposed by governments, both national and regional, in the not-too-distant future. While relevant to businesses of every size, the document was formulated with the specific needs of small and medium-sized enterprises in mind.
“To operate in an environment in which a structured ESG strategy is becoming a prerequisite, these principles are looking to aid companies on starting this sometimes daunting journey by giving tangible next steps,” explained Wesley Hunt, Chair of CIBJO’s Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee, which initiated the project. “It was with this in mind, and also with an understanding that the laboratory-grown diamond sector has specific needs that we decided to create the guidelines.”
The guideline was developed in partnership with independent advisers, Key & Co., and presented for the first time by its authors, Jon Key and Helen Mitchell, at the 2023 CIBJO Congress in Jaipur, India, in November last year. It is now available for downloading at no charge on the CIBJO website. To download the document, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
ESG refers to a set of performance evaluation criteria that an organization uses to measure and monitor the robustness of its governance mechanisms and its ability to effectively manage environmental and social impacts. It has largely superseded previous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approaches, providing broader, more precisely articulated and measurable sets of actions that affect employees, their families, customers, investors, shareholders, local communities and society at large, to improve long-term human-life quality, the environment and the economy.
The guidance document presents 14 specific principles, five of which relate to environmental policy, four to socially responsible policies, and five to governance. Each principle includes a set of recommended actions, and an indication of its relevance to specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The new document is the second set of guidelines created by the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee, and is intended to be used in conjunction with it. The first set, which was released in June 2021, is the “Laboratory-Grown Diamond Guidance.” It includes a set of operating standards and principles for the laboratory-grown diamond sector that are designed to enhance consumer confidence to ensure that each laboratory-grown diamond is bought or sold transparently, while preventing unfair or deceptive trade practices. To download the 2024 edition of the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Guidance PLEASE CLICK HERE.
The session of the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee at the 2023 CIBJO Congress in Jaipur, India, in November 2023, where Jon Key and Helen Mitchell presented the Environmental, Social and Governance Principles for Laboratory-Grown Diamonds guideline.
CIBJO’s Jewellery Industry Voices begins fifth season
with seven hybrid seminars at January VICENZAORO show
JANUARY 11, 2024
CIBJO’s popular Jewellery Industry Voices webinar and seminar series will kick off its fifth season at the VICENZAORO show in Vicenza, Italy, with seven hybrid seminars – in person at the Fiera di Vicenza exposition centre, and simultaneously live streamed. They will take place over two days, on Saturday, January 20, 2024, and Sunday, January 21, 2024.
The event is beuing hosted by the VICENZAORO organizer, the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), and is part of a joint CSR and sustainability educational programme for the jewellery industry, presented by by CIBJO and IEG, which has been recognized by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.
The two day programme is as follows:
SEMINAR 1
Technology and Innovation in Responsible Sourcing
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 10:00 AM-10:50 AM, Educational Hub Room
Organised in collaboration with the Platinum Guild International (PGI), the seminar will look at technologies that enhance responsible sourcing, particularly in terms of creating traceable supply chains. It will be moderated by Josh Helmich, CEO and founder of the Helmich Luxury Group, and the panellists include Jason McIntosh, Chief Operating Officer at Tracr, the advanced technology platform developed by the De Beers Group to underpin trust in diamond provenance; Tai Wong, Director, Global Innovation and Product Development at PGI; Edward Johnson, Corporate Responsibility Director at Gemfields, a major coloured gemstone mining company; Andrew Rimmer, Chief Executive Officer at Opsydia, whose ultra-short pulse laser technology is bringing significant security advances to diamonds and other gemstones; and Francesca Manfredi, Head of Sustainable Innovation Watches and Jewellery at Kering, the luxury brand group.
SEMINAR 2
Equality for All
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 11:00 AM-11:50 AM, Educational Hub Room
Organised in collaboration with the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (WJI 2030), the seminar will examine how the goal of fostering inclusivity, as prescribed in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, can be achieved through collaborative initiatives, and more specifically through the Women’s Empowerment Principles. In September last year, WJI 2030 launched its first case study on Gender Responsive Procurement in the watch and jewellery industry in collaboration with UN Women. The seminar will be moderated by Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director and Secretary General of WJI 2030. Panellists include Dr. Anino Emuwa, Founder of 100 Women @ Davos; Lisa Koenigsberg, President of Initiatives in Art & Culture; Mihwa Park, Women’s Empowerment Principles Coordinator at UN Women; Alice Vanni, CSR Manager, Italpreziosi; and Emilie Van Landeghem, Manager Governance and Strategic Sustainability Projects at WJI 2030.
SEMINAR 3
Actioning the Nature Journey in the Watch and Jewellery Industry
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 12:00 PM-12:50 PM, Educational Hub Room
Organised in collaboration with the Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030 (WJI 2030), the seminar will look at the impact of raw materials extraction by the greater jewellery industry on the natural environment and the role companies all along the value chain can play in minimising and reducing their effect on nature and biodiversity. Moderated by Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director and Secretary General of WJI 2030, panellists include Noora Jamsheer, CEO at the Bahrain Institute for Pearls & Gemstones (DANAT); Madeline Heun, Nature Strategies Consultant at The Biodiversity Consultancy; Liza Murphy, Head of the Conservation Management Assurance Team at IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature; Francesca Manfredi, Head of Sustainable Innovation Watches and Jewellery at Kering, the luxury brand group; and Matan Tsabari, CSR Manager at Taché Diamonds.
SEMINAR 4
Halo to Hammer: Reward and Risk in Social Media Marketing
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 1:00 PM-1:50 PM, Educational Hub Room
Organised in collaboration with the New York-based Initiatives in Art & Culture, the seminar will consider how, with the social media having become primary vehicles for the marketing of jewellery, a range of risks, both reputational and legal, are becoming more prominent. It will look at the role played by influencers, and the implications of their use of intellectual property, greenwashing and virtual reality. The seminar will moderated by Lisa Koenigsberg, President of Initiatives in Art & Culture, and panellists include Tiffany Stevens, President of the CIBJO Ethics Commission and President, CEO and Chief Counsel of Jewelers Vigilance Committee, the leading legal specialist in the U.S. jewellery sector; Kyle Roderick, a journalists at Bijoux Review; Marco Amorese, a partner at the AMSL Avvocati legal firm in Milan; and Raluca Anghel, Global Head of External Affairs and Industry Relations at the Natural Diamond Council.
SEMINAR 5
Investigating sustainability principles in the gold jewellery business
Sunday, January 21, 2024, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM, Palladio Theatre
Organized in collaboration with the World Gold Council, the seminar will consider the application of sustainability practices in the jewellery industry, from the perspective of gold sector. It will be moderated by John Mulligan, President of the CIBJO Sustainable Development Commission, and Director of Market Relations and Climate Change Lead at the World Gold Council (WGC). Panellists will include Sakhila Mona Mirza, Executive Director of the Board and General Counsel at LBMA; Melanie Grant, Executive Director of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC); Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director and Secretary General of WJI 2030; Briony Coleman, Head of Safety & Sustainability Global at Newmont, the world’ largest gold miner; and Philip Olden, an industry sustainability and responsible supply chain consultant, who is the former President of the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission and a former Managing Director of the World Gold Council.
SEMINAR 6
A Common Understanding: Harmonising the Language of Responsible Supply Chains
Sunday, January 21, 2024, 11:15 AM-12:15 PM, Palladio Theatre
The seminar will consider how, with supply chain integrity becoming a critical component of a jewellery item’s real worth, the terminology used to describe and evaluate responsible social and environmental practices is increasingly important. It will look at the work of CIBJO’s Jewellery Industry Supply Chain Nomenclature Committee, which was created to develop a set of universally agreed to nomenclature related to responsible sourcing and sustainability that would be applicable both in the industry and in marketing and informational messages in the consumer markets. The keynote speaker will be Feriel Zerouki, Chair of CIBJO’s Jewellery Industry Supply Chain Nomenclature Committee, who is also Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs at the De Beers Group and President of World Diamond Council. Edward Johnson, Corporate Responsibility Director at Gemfields will help lead the discussion.
SEMINAR 7
The role of big data in understanding the diamond market and decision making
Sunday, January 21, 2024, 12:30 AM-1:30 PM, Palladio Theatre
The seminar will focus upon the increasingly availability of big data, as well as the software tools able to analyze them and detect patterns, removing much of the risk that has been part of the jewellery trade for decades. The featured speaker is Mahiar Borhanjoo, President of UNI Diamonds, the developer of a leading diamond business-to-business trading ecosystem, where decision-making is enabled by an examination of real-time big data. Edward Johnson, Corporate Responsibility Director at Gemfields will help lead the discussion.
To view the webinars online, viewers will be able to link directly to the live feed via the The Jewellery Golden Cloud on the VICENZAORO website at: https://www.vicenzaoro.com/en/. h
Committee discusses guidelines for implementing
ESG principles in laboratory-grown diamond sector
ESG consultants Jon Key (left) and Helen Mitchell, addressing the session of the CIBJO Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee on October 5, 2023. Thet are joined on the podium by Wesley Hunt (second from right), the committee Chair, and Ralika Anghel. Joining remotely as panellists are Joanna Park-Tonks, President of the International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA), Andrey Zharkov and Jean-Pierre Chalain, Vice President of the CIBJO Diamond Commission.
OCTOBER 5, 2023
In its session on October 5, the final day of the 2023 CIBJO Congress, the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee focused on the implementation of ESG (environment, sustainability and good governance) in the laboratory-grown diamond sector. The session was moderated by its chair, Wesley Hunt.
Consultants Jon Key and Helen Mitchell, who had been retained by CIBJO to develop a system outlining the incorporation of ESG practices in the sector, outlined 14 broad principles to guide companies in contributing to a more sustainable future. They are designed to adopted voluntarily, Ms. Mitchell noted, “But in today’s world there are only three absolute certainties – death, taxes and WSG regulation.”
The diagram of the principles was presented, showing a wheel divided by environmental, social responsibility and governance principles, provided clear definitions of each plus practical and measurable action items, including how each will contributed to meeting one or more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Among these were recommendations on renewable energy, such as switching to a renewable energy providers, monitoring energy use, and acquiring energy saving equipment.
The social responsibility principles covered areas such as health and safety, and paying fair wages.
“Consider the principles as a checklist as a means to move to sustainable and socially responsible action,” Mr. Key told the Congress.
Ms. Mitchell said she has sounded out CIBJO Congress participants and heard comments such as, “My company is too small to make a difference.”
“If we do take action [on ESG], we create new norms and others will follow,” she stated.
Ms. Mitchell urged jewellery companies to take simple steps, under the principles, such as monitoring water usage.
“Last year I worked with a manufacturing company that saved 20 percent of funds spent on water, by identifying their use of water,” she said. “I also worked with a company that removed all plastics from packaging.”
Laboratory-Grown Steering Committee members Joanna Park-Tonks, who heads the International Grown Diamond Association (IGDA), and Andrey Zharkov, founder of Ultra C, a lab-grown diamond jewellery company, said they welcomed the initiative as a means to create a more sustainable future for the lab-grown diamond sector.
“We are all feeling our way,” Park-Tonks told the congress.
CIBJO Coral Commission reinforces differentiation
of precious coral from reef coral
The Coral Commission in session on October 5, the final day of the 2023 CIBJO Congress (from left): Rui Galopim de Carvalho, the commission’s Vice President; Vincenzo Liverino, the commission’s President; and Kenneth Scarratt, also a commission Vice President.
OCTOBER 5, 2023
CIBJO’s Coral Commission has reinforced its differentiation of the definition of precious coral from reef coral, in order to more clearly identify the precious coral used for jewellery.
The Coral Commission met on October 5, during the third day of the 2023 CIBJO Congress in Jaipur. It was chaired by Vincenzo Liverino, the body’s President, supported by Vice Presidents Rui Galopim de Carvalho and Kenneth Scarratt.
Summing up the deliberations of the Coral Commission report to the CIBJO Congress in Jaipur, India, members of the group had agreed upon some minor semantic changes.
But a major effort of the commission is educational, and in particularly assisting both members of the industry and the jewellery consuming public about precious coral varieties, which reside in deep and colder water and are less impacted by global warming and ocean acidification, and the better known reef and common coral, which are considerably more impact.
The CIBJO Commission has recommended that precious corals of the type that can be used in fine jewellery, should only be fished from a depth of more than 50 metres below the ocean’s surface, with a trunk width of at least 7 millimetres.
Specialist, highly trained scuba divers can reach depths in excess of 50 metres to reach precious coral.
On the other hand, common corals, including reef corals are not generally used in precious jewellery, and considerably more likely to be considered endangered by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
There currently are no precious coral varieties restricted by CITES, and a good proportion of the material being used by the industry at present were processed from corals that died many years ago.
CIBJO Coral Commission President Vincenzo Liverino speaking during the Coral Commission session on October 5, 2023.
CIBJO Gemmological Commission considering
amendments to gemstone variety definitions
The Gemmological Commission in session on October 5 (from left): Thanong Leelawatanasuk, commission Vice President, Hanco Zwaan, the commission’s President; and Claudio Milisenda, another of the commission Vice President.
OCTOBER 5, 2023
Reporting in its activities during the third day of the 2023 CIBJO Congress on October 5, Gemmological Commission detailed the operation of a working group it is leading to consider amendments to definitions of gemstone varietal names, which should reduce risks of inconsistencies by laboratories and help to protect consumer confidence.
The commission was chaired by Commission President Hanco Zwaan, supported by Vice Presidents Claudio Milisenda of the German Gem Lab and Thanong Leelawatanasuk of the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand (GIT.)
The Commission is working on a gemmological book of amendments to more clearly define minerals and gemstones, incorporating 278 entries of different names, such as actinolite, agate, and so on.
“This list is to help with definition of names,” said Dr. Zwaan stated.
“Does a name refer to a mineral or a gem variety name or a trade name? For example, Fei Cui is designated as a trade name in the document.”
Dr. Zwaan added, “It could be that trade names today could become variety names after some time.”
He said, “This document is a baseline from which we can start discussions on borderline cases. The labs will later decide what to do with this information.”
Gemmologists have noted inconsistencies in lab reporting of gemstones, for example over a colour definition surrounding green beryl and emeralds, or the origin of sapphires.
Speaking from the audience, Wesley Hunt, Director, Programme Management, at De Beers Consumer & Brands, who also is Chair of the CIBJO Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee, noted that laboratory grown diamonds are diamonds, but they are not gemstones because they are not minerals.
The ongoing research will aim to reduce risks of inconsistencies, enabling a more level playing field for lab reporting which in turn will help to underpin consumer confidence in gemstones set into jewellery.
Precious Metals Commission considers issues
related to environmental marketing
The Precious Metals Commission in session on October 4 (from left): Larry Drummond, Executive Director at International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI); Sara Yood, Deputy General Counsel, JVC; Jonathan Jodry, Business Development Director at Metalor Technologies SA, and Chair, ISO Technical Committee 174, covering the fields of jewellery, diamonds, gemstones and precious metals; Huw Daniel, President of the CIBJO Precious Metals Commisson; Karina Ratzlaff, Vice President, CIBJO Precious Metals Commisson; and Doug Henry, CEO and Assay Master of the Birmingham Assay Office.
OCTOBER 5, 2023
During the session of the Precious Metals Commission on October 4, 2023, the second day of the congress, a range of issues related to the sector were raised, including new regulations in the United States related to making environmental claims when marketing jewellery, recycled gold, and impacts on health of certain metals.
The Precious Commission panel was chaired by Platinum Guild International CEO Huw Daniel, supported by Vice President Karina Ratzlaff.
Sara Yood, Deputy General Counsel at the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) reported that the organisation is awaiting guidance from the U.S. government’s Federal Trade Commission on environmental marketing.
Based on its survey of members, Ms. Yood said that its advice was not to use the term “sustainability” in marketing jewellery pending guidance from the FTC or based on their definition of the term.
The Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides Review began in December 2022.
The JVC submitted, along with 16 additional signatories, including CIBJO, proposals intended to strengthen the jewellery industry’s position on the importance of truth and fairness in environmental marketing claims.
Of note in the JVC submission included feedback on the definition of “recycled”, which currently only applies to products intentionally diverted from the waste stream.
From the JVC submission, “The inherent value of the products used in the jewellery industry meant that almost all of the component parts used to make fine jewellery are reused in the jewellery life cycle.
“Fine jewellery components, including gemstones and precious metal, are holders of wealth (and sometimes treated as commodities); there are thousands of years of tradition of reusing, recycling, and passing down jewellery through generations.
“Rarely does this material get discarded. Precious metals and gemstones will be refined, recut, and reused over and over again.”
Yood said during the panel that while nothing in precious jewellery was wasted because of its inherent value, fast fashion jewellery was often thrown away.
“Fast fashion products end up in the ground; jewellery products start in the ground and stay out,” the JVC submission said.
JVC asked specifically for the FTC to either refine their definition of recycled, or provide the industry with alternative terminology, such as “repurposed”, “reprocessed” or “reclaimed”.
Jonathan Jodry, Chair, ISO Technical Committee 174 for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), said he expected to report back to the CIBJO Congress next year on results of a project to investigate whether standards on responsible sourcing of precious metals, including recycling, are in line with ISO standards.
In another presentation, Birmingham Assay Office called for implementation of standards to reduce risks to consumers from hypersensitivity to gold that may be linked to allergic reactions to nickel and cobalt, which can be used in gold alloys.
“The impact of allergens on society is immense,” Doug Henry, CEO and Assay Master of the Birmingham Assay Office, said.
He referred to increased costs to healthcare and risks of market impact to the jewellery industry.
Mr Henry spoke of a need for international standards, and advocated clearer labelling in order to protect consumer interests and reduce risks of allergenic reactions.
In an address by its Executive Director Larry Drummond, the International Precious Metals Institute appealed for more collaboration with CIBJO on events and in dissemination of information to members of both organisations.
Spreading of microplastics erodes quality
of pearl molluscs and nacre, commission is told
Pearl Commission President Kenneth Scarratt, speaking during the Pearl Commission session. He is flanked by Rui Galopim de Carvalho (left), Vice President of CIBJO’s Sector A, and Shigeru Akamatsu, the Pearl Commission’s Vice President,
OCTOBER 4, 2023
The spread of microplastics in the world’s oceans will erode the quality of pearl molluscs and nacre if unchecked, potentially limiting the supply of higher quality natural and cultured pearls in the longer term, said Kenneth Scarratt, President of the CIBJO Pearl Commission, which met on October 4 at the congress taking place in Jaipur, India.
Speaking after a Pearl Commission meeting Mr Scarratt said, “The potential impact is on the quality of the nacre being produced by the molluscs.”
Asked to elaborate on the impact, he added, “The higher quality (pearls) would be proportionately less.”
Mr Scarratt said that efforts to limit or halt the spread of microplastics in the world’s oceans, could reverse any impact.
“The whole point of this is to clean the oceans up,” he said.
“If fishermen didn’t let their nets go into the ocean, there would be less of an issue.”
The Pearl Commission document, presented to the CIBJO Congress, said that one of the most dominant sources of fibres in the marine environment was fishing gear.
“Since the areas studied host significant fishing and shipping activities, these would likely contribute to the larger number of fibres found in the areas,” the study said.
The Pearl Commission panel was chaired by Mr Scarratt, who was joined on the podium by Shigeru Akamatsu, the commission’s Vice President, and Rui Galopim de Carvalho, Vice President of CIBJO’s Sector A.
