With support growing for an international system that will monitor the responsible sourcing of coloured gemstones, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has discussed possible alternatives that also will meet the requirements of smaller-scale miners. He did so during a visit to Colombia, in talks with representatives of the country’s government and industry.

After four years of discussion and deliberation, in May 2017 the European Council and European Parliament provided overwhelming approval to Regulation (EU) 2017/821, which will regulate minerals from conflict areas into the European Union. The new legislation will significantly impact the operating procedures of jewellery companies in the European Union, as well as companies that supply them from outside the EU.

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has met in Bangkok with Mrs. Apiradi Tantraporn, the Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Thailand, to discuss preparations for the 2017 CIBJO Congress, which will take place in the city in November, and also ways in which CIBJO and the congress can assist in enhancing the role of Thailand in the international jewellery and gemstone business.

The jewellery industry’s challenge in coming years will be to position itself as a model of sustainable development, thereby appealing to a new generation of consumers, said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, speaking at the 16th Paris Gemmological Rendez-Vous on June 12.r Giard.

Gaetano Cavalieri, the President of CIBJO, has joined a high-level delegation from the Republic of Fiji, led by the country’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, at the Oceans Conference at the United Nations in New York, to outline and promote the development of a sustainable pearl farming sector in Fiji.

Gaetano Cavalieri, the President of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has had a personal audience with Pope Francis at Vatican City in Rome. It took place on May 20, following a three-day conference of the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation, where business, academic and political leaders discussed ethical challenges and strategies, and at which Dr. Cavalieri was one of the speakers.

The 2017 CIBJO Congress will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, November 5-7, 2017, with pre-congress meetings beginning on November 2. The World Ruby Forum, which is being organised in conjunction with the congress, will take place November 4. The main venue for the CIBJO Congress and the official congress hotel will be the Shangri-La Bangkok.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2017 annual congress in Bangkok, Thailand, November 5-7, 2016, with pre-congress meetings beginning on November 2. The World Ruby Forum, which is being organised in conjunction with the congress, will take place November 4.

The six CIBJO Blue Books are definitive sets of grading standards and nomenclature for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, coral, precious metals, and gemmological laboratories.

The requirement that all jewellery components be shown to have been responsibly and ethically sourced, handled and traded has become a central tenet of the luxury markets in the 21st Century, and it has led to the development of a service sector that provides the means and methods of ensuring the integrity of the supply chain.