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.

Meeting at the 2013 CIBJO Congress, the Precious Metals Commission heard from Cecilia Gardner, President and CEO of the U.S. Jewelers Vigilance Committee, about the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States and how it affects the jewellery industry’s use of gold.

The law relates to a wide range of industries and the sources of their gold supplies. Publicly traded companies must report to the Securities and Exchange Commission on the gold they use in their products and where it is sourced.

Ms. Gardner explained that the supply chain for gold is complex and that, while some of the reporting requirements that relate to recycled gold and gold refined after a certain date were eased, the rest of gold production is covered by the act.

She said that one American firm affected by the gold provisions reported that it has 300 suppliers of products with gold content, and those suppliers also have their own suppliers. Ms. Gardner noted the complexity of the law’s provisions. No gold can be used that originates in the Democratic Republic of Congo and nine neighbouring states, she explained.

Ms. Gardner stressed, however, that there is information available for how to comply with Frank-Dodd. The JVC has created an essential guide to how to comply for the jewellery industry which, unlike big miners and refiners, do not have compliance officers. She said there are around 25 to 30 publicly traded firms that are affected by the act.

The European Union is looking into creating a similar law and has asked the JVC for its comments. CIBJO plsns to take leading role in the industry’s response to the EU, she said.

Gardner also explained that the Federal Trade Commission in the Unitd States is revising its guidelines and CIBJO and other bodies had submitted proposals. At a meeting in June, the FTC will hold discussions relating to precious metals.

The commission also heard about the price of gold and the demand from specific countries as well as usage in jewellery. In consumption terms, there have been large rises in India and China, while the United States has fallen and Russia is steady, but Turkey is continuing to see a decline.

Gold supply from scrap has risen hugely in United States, Italy, China, India, UAE, United Kingdom and Ireland and Mexico since 2008. Increasingly, mixed metals are being used to make jewellery affordable for consumers. The Danish jewellery company Pandora has been successful in this respect. Costume jewellery becoming increasingly popular around the world.

There was also a discussion on the issue of nickel and the EU nickel directive in 1998 that is being replaced by a 2011 directive. It was proposed that CIBJO members urge their National Standards Bodies to seek a temporary suspension of Appendix 1 of EN1811:2011 and a reintroduction of the 1998 directive.

The commission urged members to seek agreement from national governments that products already in the supply chain before March 31, 2013, be considered as compliant with EN1811:1998.

Photo Caption: Cecilia Gardner, President and CEO of the U.S. Jewelers Vigilance Committee

Meeting at the 2013 CIBJO Congress, the Gemmological Commission followed up on a decision taken at its previous meeting in Vicenza in 2012, where it was decided to review Annex A of the Gemstones Blue Book to ascertain whether the corrections that were made previously are correct, and maketo amendments where appropriate. The commission’s proposals would then be submitted to the Coloured Gemstone Commission.

Annex A of the Gemstones Blue Book lists all the gemstone materials and their varieties, including their commercial names, and describes the modifications and treatments that have been accepted.

Gemmological Commission President Hanco Zwaan displayed the draft Annex that contains the amendments agreed by the commission’s steering committee for the assembly’s review.

James Riley explained that ‘Blue John’ fluorite is commonly resin impregnated. It was agreed to incorporate this as an option in the Annex. Sector A President Roland Naftule said that natural blue to bluish green common opal should also be added.

On the Gemmological Laboratory Book, it was explained that no proposals were received through the year, but the president welcomed further remarks for improvement.

The issue of how laboratories worldwide can work together and harmonise with the trade, to improve consistency, reliability of information and consumer confidence was raised, and Mr. Naftule asked the commission to put this on the its agenda. The concern is that, due to a lack of close cooperation between the labs, inconsistencies occur in both nomenclature and results, such as in the area of origin determinations, by which neither the needs of the industry nor the public are met.

It was agreed that CIBJO should look into this matter to see what can be done to improve consistency between labs. A first step could be to send a strong signal to the laboratories worldwide that they should take note of the sheets produced by LMHC, and consider what nomenclature they can comply with and can implement in their own organisations.

Photo Caption: Gemmological Commission delegates (from left): Claudio Milisenda, Gemmological Commission Vice President Ken Scarratt, and Gemmological Commission President Hanco Zwaan.