JUNE 9, 2020

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has announced that its annual congress, which this year was scheduled to have taken place in Dubai, UAE, October 5 to 7, will be postponed to 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The decision to postpone the congress was taken during a video conference of the CIBJO Board of Directors, following consultation with the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC), which was to have hosted the event.

“This is the first time that we have had to postpone a CIBJO Congress, but under the circumstances it was definitely the most prudent action to take,” said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri. “Our primary concern is ensuring the health and safety of all participants, and, although none of has a crystal ball with which to predict how things will be five months from now, this is not a decision that can be taken at the last moment. Much of our operation is now taking place online, including the work of our various commissions and committees, and this will continue at full pace. A congress, however, is an event at which we should meet face to face to face, and that hopefully will be possible once again in 2021.”

Dr. Cavalieri thanked the DMCC for its support and understanding. “The DMCC management has been tremendous throughout this period, and we greatly appreciate having been able to come to a mutual decision,” he stated. “They have generously renewed their invitation to host the congress in 2021, and we look forward to being able to gather in Dubai then, just as we intended to do this October.”

APRIL 14, 2020

With the international jewellery and gemstone industry grappling with the challenge of a worldwide economic shutdown, instituted by governments in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, CIBJO has announced that it will no longer be charging for downloads of its Blue Book series of industry standards and nomenclature.

The CIBJO Blue Books are definitive sets of grading standards and nomenclature for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, coral, precious metals and gemmological laboratories, and also responsible sourcing practices. With an almost complete absence of jewellery industry standards endorsed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO), they are the most widely accepted set of rules and terminology, and have been recognized as such by the courts in the European Union, and by various governments and regulatory bodies around the world.

“Given the scale of the current crisis, this clearly is a modest gesture, but one that we are keen to make,” said Gaetano Cavalieri, the CIBJO President. “Like so many other economic sectors, the jewellery business is largely at a standstill. But that is temporary, and when the markets begin moving again we believe that progress will be supported by all members of our industry working in unison, with a common set of rules and practices. That is what the Blue Books promote.”

The Blue Books are compiled and are consistently updated – year and year out – by the various CIBJO Commissions. Their standards represent a consensus derived from the broad expertise on the subject within the commissions, and also from individuals outside the commissions who have expressed an interest in participating in the development of the guidelines.

The application of the Blue Books’ standards is voluntary. However, it is recommended that these standards should apply to all persons, partnerships and corporations at all stages of the jewellery chain of distribution, from the initial sourcing of all industry products up to and including the creation of jewellery.

All seven Blue Books can be downloaded at no cost from a dedicated page on the CIBJO website, located at: http://www.cibjo.org/introduction-to-the-blue-books-2/.

APRIL 6, 2020

Historically, international crises have been inflection points in the human experience, and the COVID-19 epidemic is likely to be one of the most transformative in living memory. The world we knew before March 2020 will be different to the one that emerges at the other end of the tunnel through which we are traveling, and it will be incumbent upon us to adapt in order to succeed in the new environment.

By way of illustration, think back to 1991 and the First Gulf War. During the weeks leading up to the January 15 deadline for Iraq to withdraw its troops from Kuwait, while a multinational military force gathered in Gulf, Israel was systematically cut off from international air traffic, as the likelihood of Iraqi missile attacks on the state drew closer. In order to keep business flowing, Israeli polished diamond traders began sending massive quantities of goods abroad on consignment, telling clients they only needed to pay for those diamonds they required, returning those they did not.

When the war finally ended some six weeks later, and the air embargo on Israel ended, it quickly became apparent that the Israelis’ clients were reluctant to relinquish the generous terms that they had been offered during the crisis. What is more, pressure was placed on suppliers from other centres, like Belgium and India, to follow suit. The percentage of consignment sales in the polished diamond trade rose considerably, and imperceptibly the burden of financing the business shifted to the midstream. The consequences of that are being felt to this very day.

The COVID-19 pandemic differs from previous periods of upheaval in that it has been so all-embracing. There is almost no facet of life that has not been impacted, anywhere on the globe. At the same time, as humanity, we have never been better equipped to deal with its effects. The changes that emerge, and they will be considerable, will come about as both a result of the comprehensiveness of the experience, and also because what we have done and what we have used to cope in the challenging environment.

For me personally, as one who for many years has only rarely spent much more than one week in one place at a time, the experience of being homebound has been challenging. But while I have not set my foot out of my home since February 26, I have had more face-to-face meetings with colleagues from around the world than ever before in my more than 50-year career, albeit they have all been virtual, via my computer, tablet or cell phone. Social distancing clearly does not negate social interaction.

One of the lessons that the COVID-19 epidemic should be teaching us is the infinite degree to which we are dependent upon one another. While we all consider ourselves masters of our own destiny, as we should, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the actions we take, consciously or not, will impact on those around us, and ultimately on the greater society. What you may consider to be an acceptable level of personal risk, may not be acceptable to your counterpart, who could be threatened by your actions to a similar degree.

Such levels of co-dependency certainly apply to behaviour related to mitigating the spread of the coronavirus, but are they not relevant to other aspects of our communal existence? Global warming, like COVID-19, is a phenomenon that threatens humanity, as well as other living beings inhabiting our planet. Will the coronavirus crisis contribute to the understanding that if we do not all institute responsible climate standards and practices, those who choose not to follow the advice of scientists threaten more than only their own existence?

Given the inevitability of substantial change and the degree to which we all have a vested interest in decisions that are and will be made, it is imperative that we initiate a cross-industry dialogue as soon as possible. It is fair to assume that none of us alone fully understands the length and breadth of the myriad of challenges that we are facing, nor the full range of solutions that we already have at our disposal, or those that it are within our capacity to develop. If we pool our knowledge and expertise, however, the picture will become clearer.

There are immediate issues that need to be addressed, many of them resulting from the slowdown to practical shutdown of the retail jewellery sector. How do were traverse this period without placing undue pressure on the full chain of supply? Then there are the longer-term issues. How will the coping mechanisms that we are using change the way we do business in the years and decades ahead?

Over the coming days, weeks and months, CIBJO will be coordinating a public dialogue and consultation, using some of the tools that have kept us in close contact over the past several weeks, despite the social distancing.

I invite you to join the discussion. It is quite possibly the most important thing that we should be doing right now, other than protecting our health and that of all others around us.

Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri
CIBJO President