CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2013 annual congress in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 7-9, 2012, with pre-congress meetings beginning on May 5. The congress will be hosted by the Israel Diamond Institute and will take place at the Dan Panorama Hotel.

Serving as the official venue for meetings of the CIBJO Assembly of Delegates, the 2013 CIBJO Congress will gather in Tel Aviv the members of national jewellery and gemstone associations from more than 40 countries and representatives of many of the industry’s most important commercial bodies. The congress also serves as a forum for CIBJO’s professional commissions, and is the venue at which its Diamond, Coloured Stones, Pearl, Precious Metals and Gemmological Blue Books are discussed and updated.

“We are thrilled to be able to hold the CIBJO Congress in Israel, and thank the chairman and Board of Directors of the Israel Diamond Institute for their generosity in issuing this invitation,” said Gaetano Cavalieri, President of CIBJO. “Israel is known primarily as one of the world’s largest diamond and gemstone centres, but it also is an important jewellery manufacturer in its own right, and a hothouse for the development of much of the most sophisticated technology used in our industry today. The congress will provide our members with a fascinating insight into this exciting country.”

“We will be privileged to welcome the leadership of the world’s jewellery industry to Tel Aviv and to be able to extend our hospitality,” said Moti Ganz, Chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute. “They will be visiting a country that, as a leading diamond trading and manufacturing centre, plays an absolutely fundamental role in the life of the diamond and jewellery industries, reporting last year a net turnover of rough and polished diamonds worth close to $17 billion. Our commitment to the health and wellbeing of our business and its stakeholders is absolute, and in this respect we are keen to support the dialogue and cooperation facilitated by CIBJO. It will be a wonderful congress, which will afford the CIBJO membership the opportunity of learning about our centre, and also experiencing first hand Israel and its ancient history.”

As was the case in 2012, the 2013 CIBJO Congress will be preceded by the Annual Meeting of the World Diamond Council.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has announced the launch of its new website, located on the Internet at www.cibjo.org.

With a slick new design that is reminiscent of its earlier website, the new edition provides a wealth of information about CIBJO and its activities, links to its national association and commercial members from around the world, and enables the immediate download of CIBJO’s widely followed sets of industry standards and nomenclature, known as the Blue Book, as well as a series of industry guides.

“Our objective in upgrading the website was to make as many as of the products and services that we provide the jewellery and gemstone industries immediately available,” said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri. “CIBJO’s covers a very broad spectrum of issues, ranging from Corporate Social Responsibility; the international harmonization of standards and nomenclature for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, precious metals and gem labs; and the marketing and promotion of jewellery in the consumer markets. We do this for the benefit of the industry in general, and our intention is that, to the greatest degree possible, what we produce is made freely available.”

From the home page of the new CIBJO website, users can immediately download in PDF format each of CIBJO Blue Books. Via the newly added Resources section, users can view and order CIBJO’s expansive “Retailers Reference Guide,” which is an in-store resource designed for the use of sales staff. The section also enables the direct download of the “Retailers Guide to Marketing Diamond Jewellery,” a 99-page book in PDF format; two booklets dealing with responsible business practices – “A Jewellery Retailers Guide to Consumer Trust” and “Responsible Luxury;” and a set of illustrated flyers clearly explaining for sales staff and customers the terms caratage, cut, colour and clarity for rubies, emeralds and sapphires, as well as providing information relating to gemstone modifications and value.