NOVEMBER 16, 2021

With the 2021 Virtual CIBJO Congress in its second week, the tenth and last of this year’s CIBJO Special Reports has been released. Prepared by CIBJO’s Ethics Commission, headed by Tiffany Stevens, and co-authored by Miya Owens, Associate Counsel at the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) in the United States, the report looks at the growing challenge of collecting, securing and handling big data, and especially personal data harvested both online and offline from jewellery consumers.

The report is released two days ahead of the final session of the two-week virtual congress on November 18, which will be a joint session of the Ethics Commission and CIBJO’s Marketing & Education Commission, together with CIBJO’s Technology Committee. It will consider the issues covered in the report, and is entitled “Dealing with personal data in the digital and online jewellery trading environment.” To register for the session PLEASE CLICK HERE.

The need for data in the jewellery industry is growing exponentially, as it is in other business sectors, as companies shift more of their activities online and employ targeted marketing software and employ social media to reach consumers. A Harvard Business Review article, quoted by the report, says that organisations with data-driven operations can outperform their peers by an average of 5 percent in productivity and 6 percent in profitability.

But, with the proliferation of data collection, there is a concurrent increase in laws and regulations worldwide promulgated to address the corresponding risks. “While the legal landscape related to data use and protection is rapidly changing, all businesses should be cognisant of the relevant laws and regulations in all jurisdictions where they have physical and digital ties,” the report states. “Gone are the days of only complying with the laws of jurisdictions where a business has a physical presence.”

The report provides an overarching view of developing legal and regulatory frameworks being constructed in various countries and regions, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, which it describes “as the toughest privacy and data security law in the world,” which also is applied extraterritorially, “meaning it may apply to a business located outside of the EU, so long as it offers goods or service to EU customers or monitors the behaviour of EU-based website visitors through web tools such as tracking cookies.”

The comprehensive Ethics Special Report concludes with five specific recommendations for the jewellery sector, designed to minimise the dangers of misusing or mishandling customer and employee personal data.

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

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

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

With the 2021 Virtual CIBJO Congress already underway, the ninth of this year’s CIBJO Special Reports has been released. Prepared by CIBJO’s Coral Commission, headed by Vincenzo Liverino, the report looks predominantly at research being conducted in the sector, both by gemmologists developing a colour description system, and scientists seeking to revive coral reefs, as well as dating the age of historical stocks and resources.

Mr. Liverino describes a research project to define and describe the colour variations of Mediterranean coral, Corallium rubrum, which was first proposed at the CIBJO Congress in Bahrain in 2019, and subsequently undertaken by the ICA GemLab in Bangkok. It was coordinated by Kenneth Scarratt, a Coral Commission Vice President.

“The goal was to devise a simple and easy to communicate colour description system that would assist both the trade and jewellery consumers,” Mr. Liverino explains.

Among the scientific research efforts examined in the report is a project being conducted by the Kuroshio Biological Research Foundation and the Precious Coral Protection and Development Association in Japan, to transplant coral branches grown in a laboratory back into the ocean. “[I]t it hoped that this will eventually result in the reforestation of the seabed with full sized precious corals within several years,” Mr. Liverino writes.

Another set of research projects has focused on the determining the age of dead coral resources, extracted both from the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and off the coast of Japan. Carbon-14 dating has shown that much of the material used in precious coral jewellery production to be older than 400 years old, and some dating as far back as 7570 BCE. Indeed, a study by Koshi University in Japan indicated that more than two thirds of precious corals in the Japanese market were not harvested from living colonies.

The CIBJO Coral Commission President urged members of the jewellery industry become carbon neutral, reducing their environmental footprint in the face of global warming and ocean acidification. “Precious corals, reef corals, marine and terrestrial biodiversity and our own survival are at stake. It is our duty to do our share, just because it is the right thing to do,” Mr. Liverino wrote.

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

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

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

With the 2021 Virtual CIBJO Congress already underway, the eighth of this year’s CIBJO Special Reports has been released. Prepared by CIBJO’s Coloured Stone Commission, headed by Charles Abouchar, the report looks at issues related to ethical sourcing, and how the principles of responsible supply chain management can be implemented without disenfranchising artisanal and small-scale miners, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

“With the overwhelming majority of rough coloured stones produced by ASM, which in turn channels its supply through a complex trading network that has developed organically over literally hundreds of years, the coloured stone industry is the most fragile structurally in all of the jewellery sectors,” Mr. Abouchar writes. “But literally millions of people rely on the income it generates, many of them living in some of the least developed and most poverty-stricken areas of the world.”

“If we try to impose our ethical value system without integrating the opinion and perspective of the local populations, we are likely to be regarded as imposing a new form of colonialism. This would be counterproductive,” the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission notes. “Nobody should discount making the utmost effort to have the sourcing of our rough supply be as ethical as possible, but the complex realities of the artisanal mining sector means that we must be nuanced in implementing ethical rules.”

“In my opinion, we need to take a holistic view when developing ethical supply chains,” Mr. Abouchar continues. “In order to meet consumer expectations, we also need to cater to the expectations of those at the supply end, and the communities in the cutting centres as well. Initiatives that fully integrate local populations in the solution are the only way to develop sustainable and ethical sourcing programmes.”

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

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

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

For the first time in its 95-year history, CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has launched its annual congress online rather than in a physical location, with an Opening Ceremony followed by a session of the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission, during which a strong emphasis was placed on the jewellery industry’s obligations to society and the environment. The Opening Session took place on November 1, 2021.

“In congresses gone by, I have looked out over a crowded conference hall or auditorium when I said these words of welcome,” said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, greeting the congress delegates. “Today, like all of you, I am seated at my desk looking at my computer, just as I have done almost each day for the past 20 months.”

The period of the coronavirus has proven to be an inflection point for the industry, the CIBJO President stated. “There are moments in the human experience where we all realise that it will be possible to define life before the event differently to life as it is after the event. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of those,” he said.

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri greeting congress delegates

“Do not misunderstand me,” he continued. “I do not believe that all-virtual congresses, where we gather while remaining isolated in our homes or offices, are our destiny from now on. I am confident that in the not-too-distant future we will be able to set aside most, if not all of the restrictions we now live with. Indeed, there is a very good chance that the next CIBJO Congress will be in-person rather than exclusively online.”

“But the tools, modus operandi and methods that we have adopted, initially as coping mechanisms, have changed the way we live and do business. In many respects they are more efficient, more effective and more able to deliver immediate results than those we used before the crisis. Now that we know how to use them, there is no going back,” Dr. Cavalieri said.

For an organisation like CIBJO, he stated, which brings together jewellery, gemstone and watch associations and companies from around the world, the adoption of online and digital technologies led to a period of increased activity, and a level of productivity and achievement that most probably is greater than at any time in the organisation’s history.

Keynote speaker Patrick Lötscher, Head of the Watch Industry Standards Department at the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.

SWISS WATCH INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHTED IN KEYNOTE SPEECH

Delivering the keynote address during the Opening Ceremony was Patrick Lötscher, Head of the Watch Industry Standards Department at the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, which brings under its umbrella many of the world’s most famous watch brands.

A new member of CIBJO, the Swiss organisation is at the vanguard of a process to unite the watch and jewellery sectors within the confederation. The two industries use many of the same raw materials and share supply lines and retail distribution outlets.

Mr. Lötscher spoke of the Switzerland’s watch industry’s struggle against counterfeiters, who in 2019 sold considerably more fake Swiss-brand watches that the 20.7 million genuine Swiss-brand watches that were sold that same year, costing the sector billions of dollars and more than 3,000 jobs.

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING AND SUSTAINABILITY

The Responsible Sourcing Commission’s session was moderated by the body’s President, Philip Olden, who asked his panel of guests if enough was being done by the industry on the subject of responsible sourcing, and if not what else should be done.

Opening the session, Mr. Olden mentioned that CIBJO’s Responsible Sourcing Commission’s Blue Book was the most downloaded of all such documents since the start of the pandemic, and reported that in April 2021 CIBJO launched an online Responsible Sourcing Toolkit, “which will enable members of the industry to do due diligence on their supply chains.”

The Responsible Sourcing Toolkit can be downloaded from the CIBJO website free of charge, by CLICKING HERE.

Among the panellists was Lila Karbassi, Chief of Programmes at the UN Global Compact, which unites some 14,000 firms and organisations from a wide range of industries, working to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Speaking to the CIBJO delegates, she called on the jewellery industry to do its part in the campaign against climate change.

“See if your targets align with science,” she stated. “By 2030 you need to reduce emissions by almost half, and by 2050 significantly more. We look forward to validating company results, and we hope many firms from the jewellery industry will join us and create a momentum for the industry overall to be on track regarding climate change.”

Panellist Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director of the Responsible Jewellery Council, described the jewellery industry as being at a “tipping point.”

“We have to get everyone on this journey,” she stated. “How do we bring all members of the supply chain along? This is the challenge. We need to step up a gear and show collectively the good impact of the business.”

Panellist Chie Murakami, the founder of Diamonds for Peace, an NGO based in Japan, said that the commitment to responsible sourcing is largely “a Western thing, which needs to be spread to other parts of the world”. She mentioned visits to jewellery stores in Tokyo where no members of sales staff could provide firm answers on the issue of the sourcing of the jewellery.

She also spoke about diamond smuggling in Liberia, where her organisation is active. “The government does not have the resources to monitor this sufficiently,” she said. “It patrols mines looking for illegal activities, with inspectors that often are unpaid volunteers. The government needs more resources.”

Lila Karbassi, Chief of Programmes at the UN Global Compact, in discussion with Philip Olden, President of CIBJO’s Responsible Sourcing Commission.

THE 3 Cs: CLIMATE, CARBON AND CIRCULARITY

Panellist Mark Hanna, Chief Marketing Officer at the Richline Group, which is part of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway corporation, said that today, more than ever before, “we need to pay attention to the 3Cs: climate, carbon and circularity.”

“All firms should have a social purpose,” he said. “We need a strong and planned way of dealing with this. Harmonization is critical and I believe there is a will across the industry to work together, so that both large and small firms can share information.”

Mr. Hannah said that the use of recycled materials is important to the issue of sustainability. “There’s nothing more recyclable than gold but any product that reduces waste and uses ecologically friendly materials is good for the world and the industry,” he stated.

Brian Cook, the owner of Nature’s Geometry, who also was a panellist, said the jewellery industry is now more attuned to consumers, “because they have the buying power to make us listen.”

“Consumers want to see real action and transparency,” he said. “They want to know what is really going on.”

The jewellery sector has capacity to be an effective leader,” Mr. Cook added. “We transcend religion, race and culture and that makes us a model for other trades. It gives us the opportunity to show we are doing good for the planet. We need to find a way to harmonise our efforts.”

“Multilateralism, which in our community means coordinating the activities of the various sectors and the different national associations and companies, is essential to progress being made in the jewellery and watch industries, particularly where it comes to fulfilling our obligations to support and protect society and the environment,” said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, concluding the session. “What we have demonstrated today is that everyone is provided an opportunity to speak their mind, but we then have to find common ground and move to action.”

OCTOBER 27, 2021

With less than one week to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the seventh of this year’s CIBJO Special Reports has been released. Prepared by CIBJO’s Pearl Commission, headed by Kenneth Scarratt, the report provides a broad overview of an industry that has been dealing with the dual challenges of COVID-19 and climate change for the past two years, with perspectives from Australia, Indonesia, French Polynesia, Mexico, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

“For while the molluscs remain blissfully unaware of the situation and continue their nacre production come what may, travel restrictions, both local and international, along with compliant social distancing, have resulted in many members of staff not being able to get to, or having been stuck on farms for long periods,” writes Mr. Scarratt, relating about the effects on the industry of the global pandemic.

Global warming and its effects on the ocean is also a massive challenge to the pearling sector, and is an issue that is related to by contributor Pierre Fallourd, who provides insight on the subject from the perspective of the Australian industry. “Extreme sea level events, which previously occurred once in 100 years will be happening every year by the end of this century,” he writes.

“Ocean acidification, shifts in marine currents and nutrients flows, as well as extreme weather occurrences, directly challenge nacre growth productivity, resulting in smaller pearls and longer cultivation time,” he continues.

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

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