Meeting on the second day of the 2016 CIBJO Congress, the organisation’s Pearl Commission reviewed recommended edits to the Pearl Book proposed by the body’s steering committee, including recommendations for the definitions for Blister and Blister Pearl.

The meeting also discussed the recommendations of the Pearl Commission Steering Committee regarding the CIBJO Guide for Classifying Natural and Cultured Pearls.

The Pearl Commission Steering Committee was asked to produce the guide two years ago, and has been working on it intensively over the past year, said Pearl Commission Chairman Ken Scarratt.

“It is a very large document and there were proposals to reduce it, but there was no clear guideline about how to do that,” he commented. “The committee is still looking at ways to make it more manageable to readers.”

It was proposed at the Steering Committee meeting to change the word “Grading” to “Classifying” in the title of the Pearl Guide, and there was no objection to this at the commission session.

“This is a very long and detailed document which the committee will continue to work on,” Mr. Scarratt said, adding that interested parties are invited to comment on it.

Mr. Scarratt reviewed the guide to show meeting participants the wide range of issues covered.

There were comments regarding the large amount of work done by certain committee members, and also about copyright laws relating to the images used. Mr. Scarratt suggested that the CIJO Board discuss the copyright issue.

Shigeru Akamatsu of Japan, one of the Pearl Commission’s vice presidents, outlined the new Japanese Pearl Promotion Law that came into force in June of this year. He said that he would give a detailed explanation about the new law and its effects at the 2017 Congress.

Comments were expressed supporting Japan in promoting pearls, and it was noted that other countries with pearl sectors should do likewise.