A delegation of CIBJO members from European countries met in Brussels on Friday, June 28, with representatives of the European Commission, to discuss EU policy concerning precious mineral imports from conflict areas and the regulation of nickel used in jewellery production.

CIBJO’s EU Committee was established in May at the organisation’s annual congress, with the express purpose of liaising with the European Union about policies concerning the jewellery industry. It represents the interests of the jewellery sector from 12 European countries.

Led by Thilo Brückner of Germany, the group in Brussels included Christine Boquet, of France; Michael Allchin, Simon Rainer, Michael Rawlinson and James Riley of the United Kingdom; Giuseppe Aquilino, Steven Tranquilli and Marisa Ameli, of Italy; and Karina Ratzlaff of Germany. They were joined in Brussels by CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, who also chairs the EU Committee, and met with a team from the European Commission led by Tung-Lai Margue, the head of the body’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, and Joris Heeren, the leader of the Sanctions Team in the EC’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments.

The meeting in Brussels took place against the backdrop of a new supply chain initiative by the European Commission aimed at responsible sourcing of minerals originating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The initiative builds on the OECD due diligence guidance for responsible supply chains, which covers minerals such as tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold.

During the meeting the CIBJO EU Committee called on the European Commission to acknowledge and accept the various voluntary initiatives and ethical standards developed and led by the jewellery and precious metals sectors. The competitiveness of the European jewellery sector must be protected, they said, and this may not be possible if additional certification procedures are imposed without any expected benefit. Above all, it was stressed, the fight against the illegal financing of conflicts would never be successful without a diplomatic approach and a political solution.

The CIBJO EU Committee suggested that the European Commission considers the unintended consequences of the Dodd Frank Act from the United States, which has resulted in many companies selecting to source gold outside of Africa’s Great Lakes Region, in order to avoid having to deal with the stringent provenance requirements. The CIBJO members described this as a “de facto embargo,” and they said that the primary victims have been legitimate gold producers and members of the local populations, who have seen employment and economic opportunities in the region tumble.

The CIBJO EU Committee also raised the subject of the European Union’s REACH Regulations, which concern the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals. In particular, it referred to EN 1811:1998, which is the revised legal standard for testing articles for compliance with nickel release limits, which became effective in the EU from March 31, 2013, replacing the earlier standard from 1998.

EN 1811:2011 is applicable to articles intended to come into prolonged and direct contact with the skin. It therefore applies to most articles of jewellery and watches. Ear-rings and other types of jewellery used in body piercings have even lower permitted release limits than articles worn against the skin.

The REACH regulation, Annex XVII restricts the nickel release to 5.00 micrograms per centimetre squared per week for articles intended to come into with prolonged and direct contact with the skin, and 2.00 micrograms for post assemblies inserted into the skin. The new standard changed the way in which test results from the approved method were interpreted, doing away with the old correction factor of 0.1 and instead applying a measurement of uncertainty. In reality this means that the compliance level for nickel release has been reduced to 0.28 micrograms for articles with prolonged and direct contact with the skin, and 0.11 micrograms for post assemblies inserted into the skin. Unfortunately, because of the new application of a measurement of uncertainty, articles releasing between 0.28 and 0.88 micrograms must be considered as “undecided” because they do not fail the requirements of the regulations, and the same for piercings between 0.11 and 0.35.

CIBJO’s national members are urging their respective national standards bodies to seek a nickel release compliance level of 0.88 micrograms centimetres squared per week for watches, bracelets, necklaces and rings, 0.35 micrograms squared per week for ear-ring and body piercing jewellery inserted in the skin. The CIBJO EU Committee also called on the EU to regard products already in the supply chain prior to March 31, 2013, and which conform to EN 1811:1998, as being compliant.

Other topics discussed were Corporate Social Responsibility and planned regulations concerning product safety and market surveillance.

Photo Caption: Participants at the CIBJO EU Committee meeting at the European Commission (from left):  Joris Heeren, the leader of the Sanctions Team in the EC’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments; Marisa Ameli, Italy; Michael Rawlinson, UK; Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO President; Simon Rainer, UK; James Riley, UK;  Tung-Lai Margue, head of the EC’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments; Karina Ratzlaff, Germany; Thilo Brückner, Germany; and Christine Boquet, France.

The presidents of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, Ernest Blom and Gaetano Cavalieri, signed today a cooperation agreement, according to which the two organisations will strive to coordinate positions, with the aim of positively influencing developments in the international diamond and jewellery sectors.

The agreement was signed at the Presidents’ Meeting of the WFDB, which is taking place in Istanbul, Turkey. It was witnessed by Eli Izhakoff, president of the World Diamond Council, who also serves as honorary life president of both the WFDB and CIBJO.

According to the agreement, while the WFDB and CIBJO will both continue to maintain full independence, they aim to coordinate positions in the areas of gemmological standards and nomenclature; standards and methods of disclosing of treated, enhanced, synthetic and simulated diamonds and gemstones; and Corporate Social Responsibility, good governance and sustainability, including the Kimberley Process. They also will share knowledge, information and assessments about developments in the international diamond and jewellery markets, protecting the integrity of our members worldwide.

“This agreement recognises that in the current environment, no single sector of our industry operates in a vacuum,” said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri. “Through cooperation and coordination, we will be better able to serve our members, our customers and our stakeholders.”

“By creating a proper framework in which we can discuss developments and formulate policies and strategies, we will promote a more efficient and more responsive industry,” said WFDB President Ernest Blom. “Ultimately, this will serve the confidence of consumers both in our products and our industry.”

“I congratulate both presidents and both organisations on this important agreement,” said Eli Izhakoff.  “If we have learned one thing in recent years, it is that the chain of distribution is only as strong as its weakest link. The agreement is meant to ensure that there are fewer potential weak links.”

PHOTO CAPTION: From left: Ernest Blom, president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses; Eli Izhakoff, president of the World Diamond Council; and Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO.

CIBJO’s Ethics Commission met at the 2013 CIBJO Congress in Tel Aviv, chaired by its president Cecilia Gardner. The delegates endorsed a suggestion that CIBJO publish guides relating to responsible business principles and advertising best practices.

There had been a suggestion that it work toward the establishment of a complaints mechanism for the industry, but members heard that there are substantial hurdles. Addressing the issue, Simon Rainer, the CEO of the British Jewellers Association, said that a complaints mechanism may result in CIBJO being saddled with liabilities that might result, and there could be considerable expenses involved.

Furthermore, he stated, CIBJO lacks the personnel to put such a mechanism into force, and creating the body would also require extensive knowledge of the laws of all the countries involved.

Commission members decided the best course was to leave complaints to each country’s industry association to deal with. However, it was suggested that CIBJO develop a handbook for members to advise and coach them on how best to handle complaints.

It was noted that the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practice and the OECD have already developed Corporate Social Responsibility courses and models, however they are too sophisticated for many jewelers who are typically small businesses. Mr. Rainer said the CIBJO website has a discussion paper that he prepared setting out the advantages for small businesses in developing CSR policies and procedures.

Commission members said that a Blue Book on CSR is not required, however a handbook should be developed to set out how small companies can incorporate CSR into their business operations. As a result, a working group was established to develop the handbook comprised of Simon Rainer, Ian Hadassin and Doug Hucker.

On the issue of Advertising Best Practice, Ms. Gardner also volunteered to provide a first draft of a handbook setting out best business practices in advertising which is based on common sense principles and can be used in many countries. It would not address the laws of each country and would include specific examples to indicate more clearly what constitutes best practice.

Photo Caption: From left, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri and Ethics Commission President Cecilia Gardner.

A committee of CIBJO representatives from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France met for the first time at the CIBJO Congress in Tel Aviv, aiming to take the lead in discussions to be that are scheduled to held between the jewellery industry and the European Union. The committee was created by the CIBJO Board of Directors at the start of he congress, and it is chaired by Thilo Brueckner of Germany.

One of the main issues being formulated by the EU is legislation along the lines of the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act which deals largely with financial regulation in the United States but also sourcing of gold and preventing the purchase of the metal where there is a concern that it is fuelling rebel forces, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri explained the possible legislative moves were multi-faceted, meaning that CIBJO should have a unified voice at the talks.

The EU has distributed a survey on conflict minerals and requested input from CIBJO. Commission members warned that CIBJO should move quickly on the issue of the origin of conflict minerals in order to ensure it ha a voice in the discussion.

Dr. Cavalieri said that due to the large-scale importance of all the issues, CIBJO will send a proposed agenda of issues to discussed to members and requested that they make additions on issues that they wished to see raised. He emphasised the importance of creating strong contact with the EU, since organisations that are not proactive in having an input are simply not heard.

Well-known jewellery designer and manufacturer Roberto Coin addressed the commission, saying he was speaking as a member of the Italian jewellery industry which he said had dropped in size by about 50 percent in recent years. He called for the same regulations to apply to jewellery manufacturers everywhere, in order to create a level playing field. This applied to the amount of nickel in jewellery which CIBJO’s Precious Metals Commission debated at length at its meeting, but also the issue of conflict diamonds, and the sourcing of gold.

“Customs officials should control all products coming into a European country or the United States to ensure that imports do not have an unfair advantage over locally made goods. We produce jewellery according to strict regulations, but we find that imports are not subject to the same rules. That gives them an unfair advantage,” Mr. Coin said.

Photo Caption: From left, EU Committee Chairman Thilo Brueckner and CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri.

The CIBJO Pearl Commission has accepted a suggestion from its Steering Committee to ask the Tahitian government to establish a group of cultured pearl professionals to devise a universal pearl grading system. The meeting heard that the World Jewellery Confederation may adopt the system if the CIBJO rules are incorporated into it.

The decision stemmed from a proposal at the 2012 congress in Vicenza that CIBJO look into developing a single pearl grading system that organisation could use and endorse.

Pearl Commission President Ken Scarratt spoke on the issue of CIBJO’s books becoming larger, and that questions had been raised about the possibility of having them translated. There was increasing interest in the issue of having the books translated, members said, because some people in non-English speaking countries were not sure if they were following the rules or not.

He reported that he had also been asked to look into the possibility of creating an abbreviated Pearl Book.

It was suggested that such a book not be in CIBJO’s Blue Book format, however the exact format that would be used has not yet been determined, Scarratt said. It should be short but would still include diagrammatic examples.

The commission would have to decide on the most important parts of the Pearl Book and they would be permanently highlighted in the Blue Book by bolding them. It was agreed to move forward with the reference guides.

Meanwhile, Cecilia Gardner of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, reported that along with a group of other organisations in the United States, her organisation was discussing the issue of a pearl that has been treated or dyed being declared as such with officials from the Federal Trade Commission.

Photo Caption: Jeanne Lecourt, Vice President of the Pearl Commission and the representative of Tahiti.

The CIBJO Trade Show Commission, which was established at the 2012 CIBJO Congress in Vicenza, met for the first time this year in Tel Aviv. Participants were provided a presentation by the commission president, Corrado Facco, in which he described the mission of the new body that provides a common forum for trade show organisers serving the jewellery sector.

The mission of the commission, Facco said, is to provide a common platform, and develop options by which the trade can be developed, while upholding the ethics of CIBJO, which include CSR, disclosure and fair trade.

“In many respect the new Trade Show Commission is a networking body. It provides us with a recognised forum in which we discuss common issues, and, if possible, develop projects that will serve all of its members,” Mr. Facco said. “It also will provide our a community with a collective structure in which we can sit down and talk to members of the jewellery industry – where ideas can be raised, grievances aired and troubleshooting initiated.”

“As we have been very careful to emphasise, the Trade Show Commission is no way intended to influence the spirit of fair competition that exists between the various trade show organisations. There is absolutely no intention to create a monolithic organisation that will dictate policy,” he stated

Mr. Facco said that potential trade show members had been contacted ahead of the congress, including representatives of Fiera di Vicenza, IBGM, Russia’s Restec, the Armenian trade show and the Bangkok trade show. In addition, the organisers of the Hong Kong Gems and Jewellery Fairs, HKTDC, said that they would be willing to serve as observers, while Dubai also pledged its support.

The proposed mission statement for the commission notes: “Respecting the autonomy of each of its members, the CIBJO Trade Show Commission seeks to address issues of common concern to the organisers and owners, as well as to trade show exhibitors, buyers and visitors. The mission of the CIBJO Trade Show Commission is to facilitate a palette of trade show options that promote the development of a diverse, robust, efficient and responsible trade in jewellery, as well as in related jewellery components, equipment and services.”

The commission heard that CIBJO could assist in organising educational seminars at shows on CSR, ethics and other issues. In addition, show organisers could be endorsed by CIBJO as might show exhibitors, as long as they showed that they were in compliance with CIBJO’s codes of conduct.

Photo Caption: Corrado Facco, President of the CIBJO Trade Commission.