NEWS

OCTOBER 2, 2019

With fewer than seven weeks to go to the opening of the 2019 CIBJO Congress in Manama, Bahrain, on November 18, 2019, the fourth of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Diamond Commission, headed by Udi Sheintal, the report focuses predominantly on what it refers to as the “faultline” between diamonds mined in nature and man-made diamonds.

“Because laboratory-grown diamonds prices were deliberately benchmarked against the price of natural diamonds at the outset, the risk exists that the consuming public will continue to associate the one with the other, even after the economics have changed,” Mr. Sheintal writes. “While natural diamonds may once have inflated the price of laboratory-grown stones, the price war in the laboratory-grown diamond sector could have the effect of depressing the value of goods in the natural diamond sector.”

“This makes the task of disconnecting the natural diamond sector and the laboratory-grown diamond sectors even more important, not only from our professional perspective, but from the perspective of the consumer as well. The appeal of both products is different, and so clearly are the economics. They both should be provided the opportunity to thrive, in harmony alongside each other,” he continues.

In the report, Mr. Sheintal calls for the creation of agreed-to rules of engagement between the natural diamond and laboratory-grown diamond sectors in marketing their products, and warns about a readiness to pitch one as being more ethical or environmentally acceptable than the other. “This is not only a self-destructive marketing strategy, but it is also questionable in terms of the claims being made and the data upon which they are based,” he writes.

“Proper rules of engagement need to be created. I suggest that one of them would be for all sides to agree that any stone, which may be precious, but always is a lifeless object, is neither ethical nor environmentally friendly. These qualities refer to the way in which they are mined or manufactured. The onus of responsible behaviour always falls upon the individuals and companies mining or synthesising, processing and marketing these products,” he notes.

To download a full copy of the CIBJO Diamond Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

MAY 22, 2019

Registration for the 2019 congress of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, is now open. Delegates and other participants may register for the congress via a dedicated congress website located at: http://www.cibjo.org/congress2019.

CIBJO’s 2019 annual congress will take place in Manama, the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, from November 18 to November 20, with pre-congress meetings beginning on November 16. It is being organised by DANAT, the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones. The venue for the event is the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay.

The dedicated website includes the congress programme, the various congress venues, important travel information, background information about Bahrain, news and photo galleries. An online registration form for the congress is available, and, since the CIBJO Congress 2019 will be a carbon neutral event, participants are also requested to complete a carbon foot-printing form. A registration form for the programme organised for accompanying persons will be added shortly.

Upon registering, CIBJO Congress will also be able to book hotel rooms using links provided on the dedicated website, both for the official congress hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, and the alternate hotel, the Wyndham Grand Manama, which is located within walking distance from the official venue.

CIBJO Congresses serve as the gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s Assembly of Delegates, and also are the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry, and its ongoing cooperation with the United Nations is reported upon.

The CIBJO Annual Congress will be organised by DANAT, the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones, which is dedicated to developing the local and regional pearl and gemstone industry, and operates one of the world’s most sophisticated laboratories in the field.

The official venue and hotel of the 2019 CIBJO Congress is the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay.

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s Assembly of Delegates, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

Located on an archipelago in the Arabian Gulf, Bahrain is home to a pearling industry dating back to at least the 3rd century B.C., giving it claim to what is almost certainly the world’s longest unbroken fine jewellery tradition. The natural pearl oyster beds to the north of the island, as well as Bahrain’s advantageous position as a port city on the trade routes between east and west, led to its old capital of Muharraq becoming the centre of the world’s first pearl-dominated economy. Today, the country remains the world’s preeminent producer of natural pearls, and also is a jewellery centre in its own right, serving the markets of the region.

“We are delighted to accept DANAT’s invitation and to bring the CIBJO Congress to Bahrain,” said Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO President. “What participants will discover is a country and an industry that blends its millennia-old legacy and tradition with cutting-edge technology and a vision for the future. We invite members of the gem and jewellery sectors from around the world to join us in Bahrain and be part of the discussion about how our industry will operate moving forward. Great changes are taking place, creating a series of challenges that will shape our business. The CIBJO Congress is where we can meet them together.”

A dedicated CIBJO Congress 2019 website will be launched shortly.