August 29, 2018

With fewer than seven weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia, on October 15, 2018, the third of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Diamond Commission, headed by Udi Sheintal, the report concentrates largely on the way in which man-made stones are being distinguished from diamonds that are natural in origin, particularly in light of the newly released guides by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

“While the new FTC guides clearly recognize the synthetic diamond producers as fully-fledged participants in our industry, the bottom line when it comes to the unqualified use of the word ‘diamond’ has not changed,” writes Mr. Sheintal. “It can only refer to a mined stone.”

The report looks at a recently released article about the impact of De Beers’ imminent entry into the man-made diamond jewellery industry, which suggests that over time perceptible differences between the natural and synthetic diamond markets will dissipate, except possibly in the instance of a handful of larger natural diamonds. Mr. Sheintal disagrees with the article’s premise, saying that it is up to the industry to create an identity for naturally-created goods that is different from those grown in a laboratory or factory.

“We now have to create a separate brand identity for diamonds mined in nature,” he writes. “This is a not an impossible exercise. A white cotton t-shirt can be bought in a supermarket for $5, or at a Ralph Lauren store for $70. The physical composition of the two products may be similar, but their legends are very different. While the one is a generic product, the other is a luxury item backed by a sophisticated branding structure. Both are viable from a business perspective.”

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

August 22, 2018

With fewer than eight weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia, on October 15, 2018, the second of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Huw Daniel, the report examines the influence on the sector by outside forces, be they political, regulatory or the result of decisions by the International Standards Organisation.

“Unlike diamonds and other gemstones, where prices are almost exclusively a function of supply and demand in the jewellery markets, precious metals are also safe haven assets, and as such are subject to forces that simultaneously are driven by both psychology and economics,” writes Mr. Daniel.

The special report specifically looks at the difficulties encountered in predicting the trajectory of precious metals prices because they tend to be influenced by outside political events, and also outlines changes affecting the sector that appear in the recently  released Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

The report recounts a successful effort undertaken by CIBJO, the Platinum Guild International and other industry bodies to reverse a 2014 decision by the International  Standards Organisation.

“The process underlined the very valuable role that CIBJO can take as an official observer at ISO, working in concert with leading industry associations,” writes Mr. Daniel. “Its position is greatly enhanced because it is seen as being non-partisan, with its primary goal being to defend the interests of consumers.”

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

August 20, 2018

CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, has paid tribute to Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, who died in Switzerland on August 18 at age 80. CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri described him as “giant among men, whose legacy will be measured by the millions of people he helped save from abject poverty and hopelessness.”

The first African to head the international body, during his two terms as Secretary General, from 1997 to 2006, the Ghanaian diplomat formulated the Millennium Development Goals and established the UN Global Compact, both of which can be credited for extracting millions of individuals in under-developed regions from poverty and providing them with a promise for a better future. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for his role in revitalising the United Nations.

“Kofi Annan’s belief was that we have a collective responsibility for the welfare of all humanity, and that our long-term wellbeing will depend on our ability to improve the lives and futures of the world’s most downtrodden. It was an understanding  that expanded the mission of CIBJO, and I would argue of the jewellery industry in general,” said Dr. Cavalieri.

In 2006, CIBJO became the first and only body in the international jewellery and gemstone sector to obtain special consultative status with the  UN’s Economic and Social Council, and as such committed the jewellery industry to the mission of fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals. These were eight international development goals that were declared by Mr. Annan at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. With a 15-year target date, they included, among others, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, ensuring environmental sustainability, and the establishment of a global partnership for development, which included governments, business and civil society. In 2015, after making substantial progress on almost all fronts, they were replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals.

Also in 2006, CIBJO joined the UN Global Compact, which is a United Nations initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. It was first proposed by Mr. Annan at the World Economic Forum on January 31, 1999, and was officially launched at UN Headquarters in New York on July 26, 2000. Today it is recognized as the is the world’s largest Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, with 13,000 corporate participants and other stakeholders in more than 170 countries.

“For the past 12 years, CIBJO has worked tirelessly to promoting our societal mission and introducing programmes that underscore our commitment to serving the welfare of all stakeholders in the global jewellery and gemstone sectors, and especially those of living in underdeveloped areas,” said Dr. Cavalieri. “Our contention has been that we, as members of a business community, should be considered by the greater society as being part of the solution. It is a doctrine that largely can be credited to the life and work of Kofi Annan.”

August 15, 2018

With fewer than nine weeks to go to the opening of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogotá, Colombia, on October 15, 2018, the first of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Marketing & Education Commission, headed by Jonathan Kendall, the report considers the potential impact on the jewellery market of Generation Z, which includes people born after 1996, who are  expected to account for about 40 percent of all consumers by 2020.

“For we the jewellery industry, it is essential to adapt strategies if we hope to succeed with Generation Z,” writes Mr. Kendall. “Gone are the old media approaches of TV commercials, long-term PR plans and static messaging. Today it’s all about fast delivery of interactive messages.”

Studies indicate the members of Generation Z rely on the advice of their peers, who may be located in multiple locations, meaning that jewellers have to create products that have global appeal. They are also more conservative and risk averse that the generation of millennials that precede them, but at the same time are decidedly socially and environmentally conscious.

“We need to show we care, because they very much care,” notes Mr. Kendall. “We must be clear about what we stand for, so our that businesses, brands and products are not interpreted as being uninvolved, or, even worse, opposed to the social causes that are important to Gen Z.”

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

August 9, 2018

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has pledged CIBJO’s support for India’s giant jewellery and gemstone sectors, during the opening ceremony of the summer edition of the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), which took place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre this morning.

The massive jewellery and gemstone trade fair, which is organised by the Indian industry’s primary trade organization, the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), will run through August 13, and attract some 1,500 exhibitors in multiple pavilions, and tens of thousands of professional attendees, from 800 cities and towns across the country and from more than 80 countries.

The CIBJO President was a guest of honour at the opening ceremony, where together with the GJEPC leadership he participated in a traditional candle-lighting ceremony, led by the council’s Chairman, Pramod Agarwal.

July 17, 2018

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri is participating in the annual High-Level Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) currently underway in New York, where just prior to the meeting the council’s Secretary General approved and distributed a statement on the jewellery industry’s contribution to the UN development programme that had been submitted by the World Jewellery Confederation.

The three-day ECOSOC gathering that began on July 16 represents the culmination of ECOSOC’s annual cycle of work, and convenes a diverse group of senior representatives from government, private sector, civil society and academia for policy dialogue, review and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as other international development goals. The theme of this year’s session is “From global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities.”

CIBJO has been the international jewellery and gemstone sector’s first and only representative in ECOSOC since 2006, when it was awarded special consultative status.

Echoing the 2018 ECOSOC High-Level Segment theme, the CIBJO statement referred to projects being taken both under its own auspices and in the greater jewellery sector. “CIBJO’s strategy has been developing educational programmes, initiating and/or supporting industry efforts, and creating tools and platforms for member organisations in their respective countries. The underlying premise of this approach is that progress will result from an aggregation of multiple grass-roots efforts,” it noted.

Among the specific programmes mentioned in the CIBJO statement are the World Jewellery Confederation’s own Jewellery Industry Greenhouse Gas Measurement Initiative, which helps companies understand, reduce and offset their carbon footprints. Other programmes cited include a rutilated quartz mine in Brazil that seeks to implement a model using natural resources as the foundation for sustainable development, the Jewellery Development Impact Index, whose concept CIBJO helped create at the Jewellery Summit in Tucson in 2017, and is today housed within the Minerals, Materials and Society programme at the University of Delaware in the United States. Also mentioned is a plan that was first presented last year at the Oceans Conference at the United Nations in New York, which was attended by the CIBJO president, involving the development of a sustainable pearl farming sector in Fiji, which includes responsibly-managed marine pearling areas that also create income-generating opportunities for indigenous communities.

“The World Jewellery Confederation supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through its work, with special emphasis on grass-roots projects in the jewellery and gemstone sectors. Involving several partners, it calls for transparency and inclusiveness, and strengthening local and global partnerships,” CIBJO noted in its statement to ECOSOC.

To download a copies of the statement from CIBJO circulated by ECOSOC, please click one of the following links:

ENGLISH

FRENCH

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