OCTOBER 10, 2019

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has delivered two keynote addresses at the Russian state-sponsored “The Art of Jewellery: Traditions and Trends” exhibition in Moscow, during which he paid tribute to the country’s historic contribution to the jewellery tradition, and discussed the path forward for the country’s industry in the international markets.

The exhibition opened at the Moscow State Exhibition Hall “New Manege” on October 8, 2019, with Dr. Cavalieri delivering an opening speech along with Alexey Fursin, Head of the Moscow Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development. The event is being organized by the Gokhran of Russia with the support of the Moscow Government, and with participation of the Russian Jewellery Guild. It will run through October 20, 2019.

Providing both a retrospective of Russia’s jewellery heritage and look forward to its future, the exhibition features 220 unique masterpieces from the collection of the Gokhran, including works of Fabergé, Ovchinnikov, Khlebnikov that are being seen in public for the first time. In the modern jewellery section, works by more than 200 items of Russia’s best craftsmen are presented. These include creations by the winners of the Russia 21st Century Jewellery Art Competition, which was  organised by the Gokhran with the support of the Moscow Government, and with the participation of the Russian Jewellery Guild and the Creative Artists Union of Decorative and Applied Arts.

The team at Gokhran played a key role in the preparation a Memorandum of Understanding that CIBJO signed last year with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), with the goal of harmonising the official system used in Russia for the classification of polished diamonds with the standards and nomenclature applied internationally, as it is presented in the CIBJO Diamond Blue Book. “The object of the agreement is to ensure that the system by which polished diamonds are classified and described in the Russian Federation are in accordance with the most widely accepted standards in the international trade,” Dr. Cavalieri said.

OCTOBER 9, 2019

With fewer than six weeks to go to the opening of the 2019 CIBJO Congress in Manama, Bahrain, on November 18, 2019, the fifth of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission, headed by Charles Abouchar, the report looks at opportunities provided by new technologies, and also at the vexing issue of gemstone variety names being used for marketing purposes, with few if any agreed to gemmological standards.

“One would surmise that, with the pace of technological advancement today, the challenges facing the coloured gemstone sector would be lessening in number,” Mr. Abouchar writes. “But, as we discover time and time again, both technology and human ingenuity have a tendency to create new challenges and transform old ones. We have our work cut out for us.”

“However, as an organisation committed to instilling ethical business practices, technology enables us to reach out to our colleagues in ways that once were not possible,”  he continues, noting that over the past year CIBJO has made two landmark guides available to the industry – the “Do’s and Don’ts,” which provides easy-to-understand guidelines for industry professionals about the rules and methods for the accurate disclosure and description of natural materials, treated materials and artificial products, as well as recommendations about information that should be requested from suppliers; and the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Blue Book, which recommends procedures by which all participants in the jewellery supply chain may undertake supply-chain due diligence. Both can be downloaded at no cost from the CIBJO website.

Describing unsubstantiated coloured gemstone variety names as the “biggest challenge our trade is facing right now,” Mr. Abouchar notes that there are numerous instances of the same descriptive names being assigned according to different standards, each time in accordance with the individual guidelines of various gemmological laboratories.

“Starting with more classical descriptive terms, like ‘pigeon blood’ and ‘royal blue,’ some laboratories began developing their own nomenclature, creating new descriptive names for a wide range of colours. Apparently, this is a mutually beneficial business strategy for both the laboratories and the dealers,” he writes.

Surmising that technology may eventually provide a solution to the problem, it is nonetheless imperative that the industry act quickly before consumer confidence is compromised. CIBJO’s  Coloured Stone Commission will work in close collaboration with the organisation’s Gemmological Commission to establish standards and parameters for variety names, he notes.

To download a full copy of the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

OCTOBER 2, 2019

With fewer than seven weeks to go to the opening of the 2019 CIBJO Congress in Manama, Bahrain, on November 18, 2019, the fourth of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Diamond Commission, headed by Udi Sheintal, the report focuses predominantly on what it refers to as the “faultline” between diamonds mined in nature and man-made diamonds.

“Because laboratory-grown diamonds prices were deliberately benchmarked against the price of natural diamonds at the outset, the risk exists that the consuming public will continue to associate the one with the other, even after the economics have changed,” Mr. Sheintal writes. “While natural diamonds may once have inflated the price of laboratory-grown stones, the price war in the laboratory-grown diamond sector could have the effect of depressing the value of goods in the natural diamond sector.”

“This makes the task of disconnecting the natural diamond sector and the laboratory-grown diamond sectors even more important, not only from our professional perspective, but from the perspective of the consumer as well. The appeal of both products is different, and so clearly are the economics. They both should be provided the opportunity to thrive, in harmony alongside each other,” he continues.

In the report, Mr. Sheintal calls for the creation of agreed-to rules of engagement between the natural diamond and laboratory-grown diamond sectors in marketing their products, and warns about a readiness to pitch one as being more ethical or environmentally acceptable than the other. “This is not only a self-destructive marketing strategy, but it is also questionable in terms of the claims being made and the data upon which they are based,” he writes.

“Proper rules of engagement need to be created. I suggest that one of them would be for all sides to agree that any stone, which may be precious, but always is a lifeless object, is neither ethical nor environmentally friendly. These qualities refer to the way in which they are mined or manufactured. The onus of responsible behaviour always falls upon the individuals and companies mining or synthesising, processing and marketing these products,” he notes.

To download a full copy of the CIBJO Diamond Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.