OCTOBER 27, 2016

The Coral Commission meeting, chaired by Vice President Pornsawat Wathanakul, as the president, Vincenzo Liverino, was unable to attend, reviewed the further development of the Coral Blue Book.

Joining Dr. Wathanakul on the podium were Rui Galopim de Carvalho of Portugal and John Andre Pedersen of Norway.

The Coral Blue Book was ratified for the first time last year, making it the most recent addition to the CIBJO set of gem product standards and nomenclature. The Coral Commission Steering Committee has spent the past year further developing the document in order to provide the trade with solid information, the commission meeting was told.

The changes proposed by the Coral Commission Steering Committee were reviewed and approved.

Sections in the Coral Blue Book dealing with fishery and species names was among the issues discussed.

OCTOBER 27, 2016

Meeting on the second day of the 2016 CIBJO Congress, the organisation’s Pearl Commission reviewed recommended edits to the Pearl Book proposed by the body’s steering committee, including recommendations for the definitions for Blister and Blister Pearl.

The meeting also discussed the recommendations of the Pearl Commission Steering Committee regarding the CIBJO Guide for Classifying Natural and Cultured Pearls.

The Pearl Commission Steering Committee was asked to produce the guide two years ago, and has been working on it intensively over the past year, said Pearl Commission Chairman Ken Scarratt.

“It is a very large document and there were proposals to reduce it, but there was no clear guideline about how to do that,” he commented. “The committee is still looking at ways to make it more manageable to readers.”

It was proposed at the Steering Committee meeting to change the word “Grading” to “Classifying” in the title of the Pearl Guide, and there was no objection to this at the commission session.

“This is a very long and detailed document which the committee will continue to work on,” Mr. Scarratt said, adding that interested parties are invited to comment on it.

Mr. Scarratt reviewed the guide to show meeting participants the wide range of issues covered.

There were comments regarding the large amount of work done by certain committee members, and also about copyright laws relating to the images used. Mr. Scarratt suggested that the CIJO Board discuss the copyright issue.

Shigeru Akamatsu of Japan, one of the Pearl Commission’s vice presidents, outlined the new Japanese Pearl Promotion Law that came into force in June of this year. He said that he would give a detailed explanation about the new law and its effects at the 2017 Congress.

Comments were expressed supporting Japan in promoting pearls, and it was noted that other countries with pearl sectors should do likewise.

OCTOBER 26, 2016

A special session on the inconsistencies of coloured gemstone laboratory reports, during the first day of the 2016 CIBJO Congress, focused on the issue of Pigeon’s Blood ruby and Royal Blue sapphire colours. The session was chaired by Hanco Zwaan, President of CIBJO’s Gemmological Commission.

Nilam Alawdeen, Chairman of CIBJO’s Coloured Gemstone Commission, provided the trade’s perspective, saying that consumers believe that Pigeon’s Blood ruby and Royal Blue sapphire are industry standards or a quality grade when they are not. There have been many such reports in the last three years, mostly in Asia. But consumers are confused and there have been a lot of returns of reports to lab, because each lab has its own standards, he said.

“Should we leave this situation as it is since have a free market with consumers free to decide which description is accurate, or should the industry set guidelines and thus win over the trust of consumers?” he asked.

He gave some of the history of the colours, saying Pigeon’s Blood red probably started in the Mogok area of Myanmar (Burma) more than 100 years ago. Meanwhile, another dealer probably invented the term Royal Blue which sounded better than his competitors’ simple blue colour, but there is no scientific justification for these terms, he explained.

In the last 25 years, labs have increasingly used these terms to describe the colour and not the quality of the stone. “Is it a description of beauty? It is very subjective to do so and everyone can be right. It also depends in which light the stone is seen and in which country.” He said that a search of Pantone’s colour charts turned up several types of Royal Blue, but no Pigeon’s Red. He asked if an industry consensus should be created.

Mr. Alawdeen added that manmade colour borderlines create an un-natural jump in prices for stones which do not receive the required title/name in the grading report. He concluded by stressing that he was not attacking the grading labs who do an excellent job in driving sales.

For the sake of maintaining consumer confidence in the integrity of reports, there should be an attempt to harmonize and to separate the scientific from the subjective colour descriptions in reports. Labs should say that the colour is clearly their opinion and this should ideally be noted on a separate page, he stated.

Dr. Michael Krzemnicki, Director, Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF, spoke about harmonization between the SSEF and Gubelin Gemlab which has been in effect for the past year.

He said that the lab had been asked to give its opinion by the trade and to mention them on reports. He showed a report from the 19th Century of Pigeon’s Blood red of a ruby from Mogok.

A lab must create its own internal standards and that then needs to be harmonized, he explained. The GIA, for example, has created a standard for fancy colour diamonds. He also spoke about the factors involved in setting criteria for setting a colour, and called for international harmonization.

Shane McClure: Global Director of Coloured Stone Services, GIA, spoke about country of origin reports and that they could lead to differing opinions. Some rubies will receive better grades because they are from Burma, but they actually might be inferior.

“Blue sapphire is the most difficult situation we face,” he commented. “Conflicting reports from different labs probably happens most regarding blue sapphires.”

Among the problems he outlined for differing reports were the big difference in the capability of labs and the equipment they can use, as well as the level of experience of staff and availability or otherwise of reference materials which he said are vital.

“The properties and characteristics of stones especially blue sapphires can overlap sometimes so much so that it’s difficult to determine the origin. Different types of deposits have different properties. If a stone is clean, then it is even more difficult to assess and also if it is heat treated. High temperature is not usually a problem, but stones that have undergone low temperature treatment can be more difficult to determine although it doesn’t usually alter internal features or properties significantly.”

Among the solutions to the problems raised regarding the colour issues was not using provenance “but that is not going to happen”. He said GIA is continuously carrying out research. He also proposed that criteria should be shared with labs comparing master stones. The GIA has done this twice in Bangkok with several local labs, he said.

He noted that colour designations are not popular in the United States and the GIA takes a lot of criticism for providing them on its reports. Clients say it is only a sales tool and labs should not be involved in providing it, he concluded.

Finally, Pornsawat Wathanakul, Director of the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), said the lab has developed a colour communication system since 1999. It has carried out a comprehensive research project on coloured stones with surveys, consultations with experts, questionnaires and other means.

She spoke of the difficulty in obtaining accurate colour mastersets for ruby and royal blue sapphires, but said the GIT eventually succeeded in doing so. And this year has created a master set for Cornflower blue, she said, adding that GIT reports do not include origin information.

OCTOBER 26, 2016

Corporate Social Responsibility was the focus of a panel discussion held on the first day of the CIBJO Congress, and the first issue to be discussed was the efficacy of the Kimberley Process (KP) in curbing conflict diamonds and whether it is still effective and how to improve it.

The session was moderated by CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri.

Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) President Stephane Fischler commented that it is ironic that when an organisation such as the KP is so successful in reducing conflict diamonds, people ask if it is still a success. He gave the example of the KP’s work in monitoring the situation in the Central African Republic and the work to return it to the KP. “There is no doubt that the KP’s narrow focus has proven to be effective,” he commented.

Gemfields President and CEO Ian Harebottle asked if some of the definitions used by international organizations are too wide and leave a vacuum that needs filling.

Meanwhile, Responsible Jewellery Council Executive Director Andrew Bone said the KP has done excellent work, but media talk about a whole range of other things it should do may have created the impression that it was not completely fulfilling its mission.

“The KP is not a one-stop shop to deal with all issues, so the industry went and developed the Diamond Development Initiative and the RJC. It recognized that the KP could not deal with everything. For what it is meant to do, the KP does an excellent job,” he stated.

“There have been enormous changes in the last decade or so and that has changed the culture for the good regarding Corporate Social Responsibility. These changes are now accepted. We must continue to cooperate to stay one step ahead of our detractors,” Bone added.

Meanwhile, Responsible Ecosystems Sourcing Platform’s Executive Director Eduardo Escobedo commented that the number of changes that have been carried out in the last 20 years in sustainability efforts is extraordinary. “This is still evolving. Sustainability even five to six years ago was more about compliance and the minimum standards that firms needed to show in order to comply, but this issue is now being seen as an opportunity. There is a lot of information available about what’s happening in sustainability around the world and companies are reading about these initiatives and moving their own projects.”

Mr. Harebottle commented although the industry is working hard in creating sustainability efforts but they still need to do more. “Jewellery is still seen as luxury not a necessity and companies dealing in them are expected to do more. Corporations are seen as inherently corrupt by many people so we need to keep doing more to prove just how ethical we actually are. There is real willingness from the industry to embrace change and that is encouraging,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fischler said he was very concerned with the fragmented message the industry is sending out regarding its products and messages. “We need to decide whether its values or risk that bring us here to discuss CSR. The more we progress, the more we are challenged. We need to discuss values with our members. The industry spends a lot of time talking about CSR, but we don’t spend enough time talking about the wonder of our products to consumers.

“We need to bring the main industry organisations together to drive our strategy. We must obtain more data and analyse it. Our members must understand that CSR is an opportunity not a risk for their businesses,” Mr. Fischler stated.

The industry is reacting rather than managing the situation, Mr. Bone stated. “We are the victims of our own success. We deal in works of art and people love talking about diamonds and writing about diamonds especially famous ones. We must be more pro-active and convincing in telling the public about what we are doing.”

Also participating on the panel was Moya McKeown, a carbon foot-printing expert, who has been working with CIBJO as part of its Greenhouse Gas Measuring and Offsetting Initiative. She stressed the importance of proactive environmental responsibility, and the critical role it should play today in the industry CSR strategy.

OCTOBER 26, 2016

The second part of the opening ceremony of the CIBJO 2016 Congress featured key jewellery industry figures, including Gemfields President and CEO, Ian Harebottle; ALROSA Vice-President Andrei Polyakov; Responsible Jewellery Council Executive Director Andy Bone; and Responsible Ecosystems Sourcing Platform’s Executive Director Eduardo Escobedo.

Mr. Harebottle spoke about the work of Gemfields, particularly as it relates to ethics, sustainability and transparency. He said that the company’s focus is on growth and development of the sector, and that it prides itself on increasing the supply of coloured gemstones. The supply of sapphires, rubies, emeralds and amethyst has always been only a fraction of the supply to the market of diamonds. The firm is also actively involved in all stages of the coloured gemstone trade, from mining to sorting and distribution to retail.

Mr. Harebottle described ethics, sustainability and transparency as being “at the heart of our work”. He noted that the gemstone industry is not doing enough on these practices, however. “When you spend time in countries where we operate you see that the needs are massive and there is always more to be done,” he commented. “We recognise this and these areas are undoubtedly better for us being there, however, we recognize that we don’t do enough and want to do more.”

He said that although the firm spends about 1 percent of revenue on sustainability programs, this translates into about 20 percent of net income. It also had to be seen in terms of paying taxes, creating jobs, and doing marketing work and that it has a holistic approach to this activity. He commented that it was important for the industry to set high targets.

Key targets for Gemfields are healthcare, education, farming, the environment, its carbon footprint, and elephant and other conservation projects in countries where it operates.

“We work with our downstream participants to ensure they are working ethically – no child labour and that they are paying taxes and other commitments as responsible firms. Disclosure is also critical and we believe that it brings a return on investment,” Mr. Harebottle stated.

Andrei Polyakov, President of the World Diamond Council and Vice President of ALROSA, spoke of the work of CIBJO in bringing together jewellery associations from across the world for many decades. Most sales of jewellery are by small retailers and they are the least protected, he said.

Consumers are concerned with social justice, conflict free diamond jewellery, the origin of precious stones and metals, fair wages, environmental protection and other issues and want to see this reflected in the products, he explained.

“Jewellery retailers are the most important part of the pipeline because of their interface with consumers. That is why CIBJO is so imp for the jewellery industry. It unites the global business. Its work on the Blue Books is critical. Your work in responsible business practices is crucial,” Mr. Polyakov said.

Responsible Jewellery Council Executive Director Andy Bone praised CIBJO for choosing Armenia as the host of the 2016 Congress, saying “CIBJO always goes where the action is and not just to the usual places”.

He outlined the work of the RJC over its 10-year history, saying it had been created by the industry for the industry. “The RJC creates an opportunity for jewellery industry members to set their standards against an industry benchmark,” he stated.

He described the RJC as the only standards organization covering the entire chain from mines to retail and is seeing very large growth rates with the latest large member being ALROSA. There has also been a large rise in RJC certifications. “The benefit of RJC membership is the ‘community of confidence’ along the value chain that it has created,” Mr. Bone stated.

He added that the RJC has 856 members “and hopefully 1,000 by next year,” with members in 66 countries with 400,000 employees

The final speaker of the morning session was Responsible Ecosystems Sourcing Platform’s Executive Director Eduardo Escobedo.

He explained that the Responsible Ecosystems Sourcing Platform (RESP), is a Swiss-based non-profit organization. It is a member-based multi-stakeholder platform composed of premium and luxury companies from the cosmetics, fashion, and jewellery industries, governments and inter-governmental agencies, research institutions, and civil society organisations.

Mr. Escobedo spoke of the need for responsible action in business, pointing out examples in the environmental field where members could take action. “We believe there is still a large gap between what is being done and what needs to be done to help the environment,” he said.

OCTOBER 26, 2016

Addressing the opening session of the CIBJO Congress, which began today in Yerevan, Armenia, the organisation’s president, Gaetano Cavalieri, stressed the independence of the World Jewellery Confederation, and its commitment to serve the interests of all players in the greater gemstone and jewellery industries, regardless of size.

The following is the full text of his address:

On behalf of CIBJO, I would like to thank His Excellency, President Serzh Sargsyan, for the great honour that he has bestowed upon us. This is not something that we take for granted, and we consider it a sign of honour not only for our organisation and the jewellery industry, but also for our host, Gagik Gevorkyan, and the men and women of the Armenian Jewellers Association.

In CIBJO we pride ourselves on forging new paths for the international jewellery and gemstone industries, looking over the horizon to areas that may not have previously been part of the public discussion.

Last year we held our first congress in Brazil, and in so doing we highlighted the growing potential of the industry and markets of Latin America. This year, we gather for the first time in Central Asia, in the centre of a massive region and a growing jewellery industry and market.

I have been fortunate to have visited Yerevan several times, but I know that for many of you this is the first such opportunity. However, even though you are seeing this beautiful city and country for the first time, I am relatively sure that most of you already well familiar with legendary warmth and hospitality of the Armenian people.

As a Sicilian I am very familiar with the experience of discovering Sicily in almost every corner of the world to which I travel, and same is true for Armenians. Some 3 million Armenians live here Armenia, but a further 8 million live in other parts of the world, throughout the Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Europe and the Americas. And it would seem, although I realise I may be exaggerating just a little bit, almost every single one of them is involved in the jewellery business.

For years already, almost every June, I have experienced a brief touch of Armenia on the terrace of the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, as the U.S. West Coast branch of AJA hosts our industry during the JCK Show. And what has impressed me every single time is not only the hospitality, but the firm commitment that they have to their community, their mother country, and to the jewellery business as well.

Two years ago, many of you joined us at the CIBJO Congress in Moscow, where our host was the Russian Jewellery Guild. Now, if any one feels that they may be experiencing some type of déjà vu, that would be because our host this week, Mr. Gagik Gvorkyan, was our host in Moscow in 2014.

As it has in so many other parts of the world, the contribution of the Armenians to the development of the modern Russian jewellery industry has been immense, and Gagik is the embodiment of that.

As President of the Armenian Jewellers Association, he and his colleagues from AJA from around the world are making sure that the jewellery industry and trade in Armenia become a powerful economic engine, driving trade between this country and the world, and serving as a self-sustaining catalyst for national economic growth and prosperity.

The very building that we are seated in today, the Meridian Expo Centre is an excellent example of what our industry represents. Thirty years ago this was a factory producing military equipment. Today it has been refitted as a convention and business centre, and free trade zone for jewellers from around the world. What better example could we have of the jewellery industry transforming instruments of war into implements of peace and cooperation.

I would like to express special thanks to CIBJO’s sponsors at this congress: Fiera di Vicenza, the Gemological Education Certification Institute, known as GECI, and Gemfields, whose President and CEO, Ian Harebottle, will address us later this morning.

Before I continue, I would like to pay CIBJO’s respects to the memory of His Majesty King Bhumibol the Great of the Kingdom of Thailand, who passed away 13 days ago after serving on the throne for 70 years and 126 days. To our many Thai members and friends, please accept our our condolences and sympathies during this sad period for your nation.

I will begin my address by defining what exactly it is that makes CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, such a singular organisation, and why it is that the role we play in the industry is a so important.

There are other representative bodies in our business, some of which are present here today, and many of which we cooperate with closely. They, too, play critical roles, but they are not quite the same, nor do they have all the responsibilities and commitments that CIBJO does.

CIBJO is the only organisation operating in the industry that considers its area of interest and responsibility to include the entire chain of distribution, from the mine to the consumer outlet, in every country and region where jewellery and gemstones are produced, manufactured and sold. There are no size restrictions in terms of the individuals or organisations we serve, meaning that our commitment to the wellbeing of the smaller player is as solid and absolute, as is our commitment to the larger players in the business.

We firmly believe that if you tender and nurture the grass roots of the industry, the business will be inherently healthier.

The only entry card into our industry should be a firm commitment to do business fairly and responsibly, always looking out for the interests of your employees, your stakeholders and your customers.

Our job in CIBJO is to develop the standards, terminology, strategies and systems that will enable all individuals and companies to operate fairly and responsibly. These change over time, are influenced by economics and geopolitics, and particularly by technological developments. That is why the work of our sectors and commission is never done.

Like all other representative organisations in our industry, CIBJO is dependent on the support and effort put in by its members. We appreciate that not all of them are able to contribute equally, and we are grateful that those who have more resources are often ready to take a greater share of the collective burden.

But at the same time we are fiercely independent, and we will never allow financial expediency to prevent us from making what we believe is the correct and fair decision.

The secret of our strength is vested in our membership. CIBJO primarily is a confederation of national associations, and each of those represents scores, and often hundreds and even thousands of individual jewellers and gemstone manufacturers traders, who depend upon their work to support themselves, their families and their communities.

For us, the jewellery business cannot be expressed only in a balance sheet. It cannot be summed up purely by numbers, by profits and expenses. We see the business as a community of individuals, interconnected with common principles and a common purpose. The success of one should never be predicated on the misfortune of another.

But we are a business community, meaning that we most definitely have a profit motive. But we believe that profits can be produced fairly, with mutual benefit. It is possible to strive for universal profitability as long as we produce a product that our consumer wants, and we are able to do it in a way that the consumer considers fair and ethical.

And, when I say, fair and ethical, I refer to the way in which we regard our consumers, as well as our employees, our suppliers and the communities in which they live.

I also refer to way in which we regard the members of our own industry, large and small. By definition, a business strategy is unethical if it directly or indirectly disadvantages other businesses, not for what they have done, but rather for what they are not able to do.

Although jewellery today is widely considered to be a luxury item, constructed from some of the most valuable metals and gems known to humankind, the jewellery craft is most definitely egalitarian, have been practiced at all levels of society throughout recorded history. For every one exclusive jewellery brand or boutique, there are literally thousands of smaller jewellers, for whom their products and their customers are just as important.

For CIBJO, each one of those jewellers deserves a place at the table, as long as they act ethically in good faith. We obviously recognise that most are not able to physically participate in the various industry and international forums, but through CIBJO, by virtue of their membership in national associations, we can and do make their voices heard.

Our commitment to serve the rank and file of the greater jewellery sector, and by extension all of our consumers and stakeholders, is what has driven our organisation.

• It is what has pushed our commissions working on the Blue Book and industry guides, not only in terms of upgrading what already existed, but in adding new volumes, such as precious metals, gemmological laboratories and coral.
• It supported our becoming a founding member of the World Diamond Council at the very start of the Kimberley Process.
• It was what encouraged us to seek Special Consultative Status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council, or ECOSOC, providing for the first time a place in the United Nations for all members of the jewellery trade, regardless of their size and national identity.
• It stood behind the creation of WJCEF, the World Jewellery Confederation Educational Foundation.
• It was the basis of the discussions that we conducted with the European Commission regarding conflict minerals.
• It has underscored our commitment to reduce and offset our industry’s carbon emissions, and to promote sustainable methods of pearl farming and coral harvesting.
• It is what was has driven us to develop programmes and tools that enable all members of the industry to implement proper standards of Corporate Social Responsibility, including supply chain monitoring, in their own businesses.
• And this, I would stress, is a very incomplete list.

We are honoured to have with us today the heads of various international industry and industry-related associations.

Among them is H.E. Mr. Ahmed Bin Sulayem, for whom this is not his first CIBJO Congress, but it is the first in his capacity as Chairman of the Kimberley Process, which as most of you know is the multi-national body that had managed the formulation and implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which is designed to prevent the infiltration of diamonds associated with conflict from entering the legitimate pipeline. It is a body in which decision-making capacity rests in the hands of government representatives, but where industry and civil society have observer status, and are well represented on its committees.

Mr. Chairman, CIBJO is proud to have been involved in the Kimberley Process from the very beginning, and to have experienced the very real change that the KPCS was able to bring about in the diamond trade. We are committed to your important work, and to strengthening the relationship between the Kimberley Process, CIBJO and the international jewellery community.

I am also honoured to welcome Andrey Polyakov, who just recently was elected to be the third president of the World Diamond Council. CIBJO was a founding member of the organisation, which as you know created history from 2000 onward when it actively lobbied and helped create regulation that would effectively combat the phenomenon of conflict diamonds. A number of people in the room were part of that effort. One who unfortunately was not able to join us today is Eli Izhakoff, who served as WDC president for its first 13 years, who is also CIBJO’s Honorary President.

I would also like to recognize Andy Bone, CEO of the Responsible Jewellery Council, who himself is a KP and WDC veteran, and who travelled to Yerevan especially to be with us. The relationship between CIBJO and RJC has been well documented over the years, and I would like to believe that we are now entering our Golden Age.

As Andy I am sure will discuss, when he addresses us later this morning, RJC has broken considerable ground in the jewellery sector though its method of certifying companies that meet its Code of Practices, which is involves a defined set of standards of responsible business practices for diamonds, gold and platinum group metals.

Later today we will announce the imminent launch of a online CSR Assurance System that CIBJO has been developing in conjunction with Branded Trust. In line with what I stated earlier in my address, our system is designed to enable all ethical gemstone and jewellery businesses to measure, monitor and demonstrate their implementation of responsible business practices.

But while our system looks to enable all participating companies meet international standards, we will not quantify nor certify those standards. That specialized work should be done by experts like RJC.

However, we are keen to cooperate and work together, so that all members of our industry are provided a fair and reasonable opportunity to seize the future.

Let me conclude on a celebratory note. As many of you know CIBJO is the oldest international association in the gemstone and jewellery industry. Our organisation was established in its original form in Europe in 1926, which means that this year is the 90^th anniversary of our founding. It is a milestone in a journey that began a long time ago in Paris, but only one in a voyage that will continue for another 90 years and more into the future.

May we all have a successful congress.