With little more than three weeks to go to the opening of the 2026 CIBJO Congress in Vicenza, Italy, on September 4, 2026, the eighth of the pre-congress Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Pearl Commission, headed by Kenneth Scarratt, the report considers the unparalleled development of the pearl market over the past 100 years, driven by the growth of cultured pearl production, as seen from the perspective of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), which is a marking its own centenary year.

Noting a landmark French court ruling in 1924, two years before CIBJO was established in its original form, when it was adjudicated that the term “cultured pearl” was appropriate for a product whose creation had involved human intervention, Mr. Scarratt writes that this was among the first issues considered by the jewellery industry’s standard-setting body during its early years.

“Since then, as stated clearly in the CIBJO Pearl Blue Book, the term ‘cultured’ has had to be used in all sales to ensure that buyers understand that the formation process was initiated by human intervention,” he notes.

The extensive special report includes contributions by several noted pearl industry experts, as well as by leading pearl research institutes, considering both the pearl itself and the influence of pearl farming on the marine environment.

Providing updates on the CIBJO Pearl Blue Book and the CIBJO Pearl Guide, the report also gives an overview of the Australian South Sea cultured pearl market, discusses the importance of maintaining genetic diversity in Akoya oysters, and looks at how pearling may contribute to the global societal goal of halting and reversing nature loss by 2030, becoming “nature positive.”

The report also presents three short contributions—one from DANAT, Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones, and two from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) —highlighting the scientific work being undertaken to improve our understanding of both natural and cultured pearls.