Meeting for the first time in formal session after the close of the 2015 CIBJO Congress in Salvador, Brazil, CIBJO’s new Board of Directors has decided to draft practical guidance, based on CIBJO Blue Book recommendations, for the trade and especially retailers, on the standards and systems that should be expected from grading laboratories.

The Board of Directors also agreed to undertake a robust educational programme targeting retailers that use grading reports when selling gemstones.

Earlier the organisation’s General Assembly elected Gaetano Cavalieri as CIBJO President for another two-year term. Roland Naftule and Eli Avidar were elected to serve as CIBJO’s Vice Presidents. The General Assembly also elected a new board of directors, and officers to head the various sectors and commissions.

The General Assembly also confirmed that the 2016 CIBJO Congress will be held in Yerevan, Armenia, hosted by the Government of Armenia and the Armenian Jewellers Association.

CIBJO’s leadership for the 2015-17 period is as follows:

HONORARY PRESIDENT

Mr. Eli Izhakoff, USA

PRESIDENT
Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, Italy

VICE PRESIDENTS
Mr. Roland Naftule, USA
Mr. Eli Avidar, Israel

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND TREASURER
Mr. Marc-Alain Christen, Switzerland

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, Italy
Mr. Roland Naftule, USA
Mr. Eli Avidar, Israel
Mr. Marc Alain Christen, Switzerland
Mr. Charles Abouchar, Switzerland
Mrs. Ingebjorg Alfsen, Norway
Mr. Nilam Alawdeen, Japan
Ms. Stella Layton, UK
Mr. Uri Ariel, Canada
Mr. Gerard Atlan, France
Mr. Giuseppe Aquilino, Italy
Mrs. Karina Ratzlaff, Germany
Mr. James Courage, UK
Mr. Gagik Gevorkian, Russia
Mr. Ari Epstein, Belgium
Mr. Corrado Facco, Italy
Ms. Cecilia Gardner, USA
Mr. Jacques Branellec, Philippines
Mr. Douglas Hucker, USA
Mr. Jonathan Kendall, UK
Mr. Mehul Durlabhji, India
Mr. Reuven Kaufman, USA
Mr. Nicholas Paspaley, Australia
Mr. Ernie Blom, South Africa
Mr. Udi Sheintal, Israel
Mr. Avi Paz, Israel
Mr. Erik Jens, Netherlands
Mr. Vichian Veerasakri, Thailand
Mr. Benjamin Hackman, USA
Mr. Ruben Bindra, USA

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, Italy
Mr. Roland Naftule, USA
Mr. Eli Avidar, Israel
Mr. Marc Alain Christen, Switzerland
Mr. Gerard Atlan, France
Mr. James Courage, UK
Mr. Avi Paz, Israel
Mr. Corrado Facco, Italy
Ms. Cecilia Gardner, USA
Mr. Douglas Hucker, USA
Mr. Jonathan Kendall, UK
Mr. Gagik Gevorkian, Russia
Mrs. Karina Ratzlaff, Germany
Mr. Udi Sheintal, Israel

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL
Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, Italy
Mr. Eli Izhakoff, USA
Mr. Avi Paz, Israel
Mr. Roland Naftule, USA
Mr. Marc-Alain Christen, Switzerland
Mr. Eli Avidar, Israel
Mr. James Courage, UK
Mr. Douglas Hucker, USA
Mr. Jonathan Kendall, UK
Mr. Moti Besser, Israel

SECTOR A
President: Mr. Roland Naftule, USA
Vice-President: Mr. Thomas Lind, Germany
Vice-President: Mr. Gerard Grospiron, France

SECTOR B
President: Mr. Willie Hamilton, UK
Vice-President: Mr. Michael Rawlinson, UK
Vice-President: Ms. Karina Sena, Brazil

SECTOR C
President: Ms. Bernadette Pinet-Cuoq, France
Executive Vice-President: Mr. Simon Rainer, UK
Vice-President: Ms. Carla Pinheiro, Brazil
Vice-President: Ms. Karina Ratzlaff, Germany

ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE NETWORKING COMMISSION
President: Mr. Simon Rainer, UK
Vice-President: Ms. Sandrine Marcot, France

COLOURED STONE COMMISSION
President: Mr. Nilam Alawdeen, Japan
Vice-President: Mr. Charles Abouchar, Switzerland
Vice-President: Mr. Douglas Hucker, USA

DIAMOND COMMISSION
President: Mr. Udi Sheintal, Israel
Vice-President: Mr. Moti Besser, Israel
Vice-President: Mr. Harry Levy, UK

ETHICS COMMISSION
President: Ms. Cecilia Gardner, USA
Vice-President: Mr. Udi Sheintal, Israel
Vice-President: Mr. James Riley, UK

GEMMOLOGICAL COMMISSION
President: Mr. Hanco Zwaan, Netherlands
Vice-President: Dr. Claudio Milisenda, Germany
Vice-President: Dr. Pornsawat Whatanakul, Thailand

INTERNATIONAL TRADE SHOW COMMISSION
President: Mr. Corrado Facco, Italy
Vice-President: Mr. Adam Lau, Hong Kong
Vice-President: Mr. Jonathan Kendall, UK

MARKETING & EDUCATION COMMISSION
President: Mr. Jonathan Kendall, UK
Vice-President: Mr. James Riley, UK
Vice-President: Mr. Thomas Lind, Germany

PEARL COMMISSION
President: Mr. Kenneth Scarratt, Thailand
Vice-President: Mr. Shigeru Akamatsu, Japan
Vice-President: Mr. Jacques Branellec, Philippines
Vice-President: Mr. Peter Bracher, Australia
Vice-President: Mr. Olivier Segura, France

PRECIOUS METALS COMMISSION
President: Ms. Stella Layton, UK
Vice-President: Mrs. Karina Ratzlaff, Germany
Vice-President: Mr. James Courage, UK

CORAL COMMISSION
President: Mr. Enzo Liverino, Italy
Vice-President: Ms. Pornsawat Whatanakul, Thailand
Vice-President: Mr. George Lu, Taiwan
Vice-President: Mr. Fabio D’Amico, Italy

INTERNAL FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
Mr. Marc Alain Christen, Switzerland
Mrs. Karina Ratzlaff, Germany
Mr. Douglas Hucker, USA
Mr. Jonathan Kendall, UK

Photo Caption: At the podium during the General Assembly session (from left): Hécliton Santini Henriques, President of IBGM; Karina Sena, President of Progemas; Roland Naftule, CIBJO’s Vice President and President of Sector A; Richard Peplow, CIBJO’s outgoing Vice President; Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO President; and Marc-Alain Christen, CIBJO’s Chief Financial Officer.

Embrace technology or expect to see your competitors take business away from you, was the message from Sector C Executive Vice President Simon Rainer at the Sector B and C gathering.

He spoke about the rapid changes taking place in technology and how advancements can help both jewellery manufacturers and retailers. It is also forcing changes in business models.

Rapid prototyping for new manufacturing processes are shaping how jewellery is being made – with CAD and lasers. The key challenge is to teach designers about these new technologies, he explained.

Advances in technology are bringing about greater complexity of jewellery design, including the use of 3D printing machines.

Speaking about the United Kingdom, where he is based, Mr. Rainer said that retailers are also embracing technology, and that is vital in the UK, where jewellery sales are expected to be flat and only in line with inflation in the coming years.

High Street retailers are under threat, he said, with a possible 22 percent loss of outlets by 2018 from 2012. That could see 1,500 stores closing in the next three years from the current level of 6,800 retailers.

He explained that the biggest challenge to bricks and mortars stores all around Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, France and Germany, continues to come from online sales. The rise in online sales in 2014 and again in 2015 is predicted to be 14 percent, he said.

“Once it would have been unthinkable to sell diamonds online. Consumers were worried about sending their financial details and about not seeing and feeling the jewelry before purchasing it,” he said.

He added that it was interesting to see how Blue Nile, a major U.S.-based jewellery retailer, is now changing to a bricks and mortar presence.

Mr. Rainer said sales initiated from mobiles and tablets are increasingly important, with 58 percent of consumers seeing mobile as way of buying this year.

He also said that online and offline are becoming increasingly linked, with Click & Collect becoming more popular. “Even Cartier has teamed with Selfridges to offer this service in the UK,” he commented.

It is projected that 76 percent of shoppers will be buying via Click & Collect by 2015 in the UK, and that this will grow in popularity by 20 percent annually, he said, adding that it was hoped that it would help stem the decline in offline sales.

Photo Caption: Members of the audience, during the Sector B & C session.

The meeting of CIBJO’s Sector A, which deals with gem materials in the jewellery sector, discussed at length issues relating to the term “altered,” and whether its should be changed to  “modified” in the Blue Books.

Finally, it was agreed that each of the CIBJO Sector A commissions will receive by email the changes that are proposed, and be requested to vote on them.  After a majority vote, they will be presented to the Board of Directors for final approval, after which the new versions of the Blue Books will be placed online.

Sector A President Roland Naftule said that the timeframe for making the changes will be about three months.

Following that decision, Naftule said it was important to thank the CIBJO members who carry out the Sector A work, and especially for the very intensive effort involved in updating the Blue Books.

He also raised the possibility of creating a computer and mobile application, which would feature shorter versions of the Blue Books.

Mr Naftule spoke about the CIBJO treatment disclosure codes, which are meant to used solely by members of the trade. “One of the problems is that a large part of our trade at the retail level does not disclose all the information about the jewellery items,” he stated, noting that the use of the codes would help address the problem.

Thomas Lind said that he supports full disclosure to consumers about jewelry items in order to help them make a purchasing decision. “How that information is passed on to consumers at the retail level is something they need to decide,” he stated.

Photo Caption: Voting during the CIBJO Sector A meeting.

The Diamond Commission held a lengthy debate relating to issues that were addressed in the Grading and Laboratory Ethics Special Session on Monday. The meeting, which was chaired by Diamond Commission President Udi Sheintal, discussed the three main themes that emerged from that gathering which suggested using CIBJO as an auditing body for labs, creating a guidance book by CIBJO on grading, and a program to educate the trade and ultimately retailers, on how to assess a lab report.

Sector A President Roland Naftule told the meeting that the subject of grading and origin reports was extremely important and that he felt uncomfortable with the idea of not having a further debate until next year.

“The seriousness of this subject needs to be addressed as soon as possible,” Mr. Naftule said. “There has been a lot of bad publicity. There could be a number of lawsuits. Our industry could be extremely damaged if we do not review this quickly. We cannot leave here without finding a way of working together on these issues and talking to the labs to meet and discuss it further and find a solution before it becomes catastrophic. As a group, we can present recommendations on how to proceed.”

There followed a lengthy discussion about the standards and terminology of the different grading reports, particularly that of the GIA.

Some members of the audience suggested it was not the work of CIBJO to deal with claims of fraud and misrepresentation regarding grading reports.

Cecilia Gardner, CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, said she did not believe that CIBJO should be involved in auditing work. “It is much too complicated and it is not an appropriate use of CIBJO resources. But we can have a role in guidance.”

Alex Popov, the Chairman of the World Diamond Mark had earlier suggested that its guidance, which would be ready in June, could serve as a basis for CIBJO’s approach.

James Riley, CEO of Gem-A, said CIBJO had a role in educating the trade about what is right scientifically so that they do not pass on wrong information to consumers.

Meanwhile, Diamond Commission President Sheintal said CIBJO could work to invest more in education so that consumers have the tools available so that they are not mislead.

Photo Caption: Diamond Commission President Udi Sheintal.