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. Visting Istanbul as a guest of the Turkish Jewellery Exporters’ Association and its President, Burak Yakin, he spoke both at the opening of the “Art For Jewellery – Inspiration Hub” at the Istanbul Jewellery Show on April 17, 2024, and on April 18, 2024, at the Turkish-Islamic Arts Museum, where a jewellery project called “Gleaming Heritage” was inaugurated.

“Art derives its unique value not only from the materials of which it is a comprised, but more paticularly from the genius, the talent and the inspiration of the artists that create it,” he told the audience gathered at at the Turkish-Islamic Arts Museum, on April 18. “A piece of art cannot be disassociated from the human being that gave it life. But it is not only the individual human creator from which one cannot separate a piece of art. This is because artists are products of their own history, their own cultures, and the countries and traditions in which they have grown,” he continued.

The opening of the “Art For Jewellery – Inspiration Hub” was attended by Ö. Volkan Ağar, Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye. The hub was organized with the support of the Istanbul Jewellery Show and the Turkish Jewellery Exporters’ Association, and created by industry consultants Aylin Gozen and Oznur Yakın.

In his address to the opening, the CIBJO President related to the theme selected for the show, “Are You Ready?”

“We live not only in a changing environment, but also in one where the rate of change is continuously accelerating,” he said. “There was a time when, faced with new technologies, new methodologies and new demands, a jeweller could say ‘I’ll leave that for my children to deal with – that’s a problem for the next generation.’ But such an approach no longer is an option. Today, within the space of a single career, you almost certainly will be required to make fundamental changes to the way you work, several times over, the tools you use, and the ways you understand and serve your customers.”

“And how can we do that?” the CIBJO President continued. “We do so by learning from past experience, understanding current trends, and keeping close track of social attitudes, scientific research and technological developments. None of those three latter elements can be disconnected from the other. If we really want to understand where we are going, we need to be aware what is happening socially, scientifically and technologically, and appreciate how developments in each one will affect the other.”

Dr. Cavalieri referred to an agreement signed in January between CIBJO and the Turkish Jewellery Exporters’ Association, to develop programmes to educate members of the gemstone, precious metals and jewellery sectors in Türkiye about the principles of ethical business practices, responsible sourcing, sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and harmonized standards and nomenclature, based on the CIBJO Blue Book series. One of its first projects will be a Turkish-language edition of CIBJO’s Retailers Reference Guide, which distils and then presents in an easily understood manner the essence of various of the Blue Books, for jewellery retailers and their customers.

“The Retailers Reference Guide will not predict the future for retailers in Türkiye, but it will prepare them for it. Knowledge, ladies and gentlemen, is as valuable as any one of the precious materials we work with,” he stated.

The ceremony at the Turkish-Islamic Arts Museum celebrated “Gleaming Heritage,” a project created by Aylin Gozen and Oznur Yakın, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Türkiye and its General Directorate of Living Heritage and Cultural Events, as well as the Turkish Jewellery Exporters Association. It showcases the country’s 7,000-year history of jewellery-making, and aims to be nominated for UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.

In his address, the CIBJO President spoke of the interconnected contribution to the jewellery arts made by the country from which he comes, Italy, and Türkiye. “Not only do our traditions traverse millennia of inherited knowledge and experience, but they also intersect  – no more so in the very city we stand today, Istanbul, which centuries ago was Constantinople, the centre of the Holy Roman Empire, and later a major center of Islamic learning, culture and tradition. We feed from the same heritage and history,” he said.

“And, as our histories intersected with one another many hundreds of years ago, they intersect once again today,” Dr. Cavalieri said. “In the interconnected world of 2024, we no longer evolve separately, but rather together, learning from each other, teaching and influencing.”

“A great artist that in the past may have shifted the cultural direction of the country in which he or she lived, today may do the same on a global scale. This does not undermine the important of national identity, but it makes our own traditions more accessible to others around the world,” the CIBJO President noted.