OCTOBER 20, 2021

With fewer than two weeks to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the sixth of this year’s CIBJO Special Reports has been released. Prepared by CIBJO’s Gemmological Commission, headed by Hanco Zwaan, the report focuses on two issues, namely the establishment of criteria for defining gem variety names, and the creation of an international set of standards, practices and nomenclature for the mainly jade and jadeite gem materials referred to as Fei Cui.

As Mr. Zwaan reports, a new Committee on Varietal Names was established after the last CIBJO Congress, which took place in Bahrain in 2019, under the auspices of the Gemmological Commission Steering Committee. It has already produced a preliminary draft of a document listing gem materials and definitions, which will be presented and discussed during the Gemmological Commission’s online session on November 3, as part of the upcoming CIBJO Congress.

Fei Cui, which is a trade name predominantly used in Asian countries, is associated with the minerals jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor, and represents a jewellery category that has an annual global net worth second only to diamonds. In its respect, CIBJO has set up a working group that is charged with creating universally accepted standards, practices and nomenclature, building upon the body of work already carried out by the Gemmological Association of Hong Kong (GAHK), the National Gem Testing Centre of Beijing and others.

“CIBJO is interested in sending a signal that it is also keen to address issues that are mainly relevant in non-Western countries,” Mr. Zwaan writes.

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 Gemmological Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

OCTOBER 11, 2021

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has described to an audience of  business and industry leaders meeting in the Italian capital of Rome, as well as online, the current and potential role of the jewellery industry as a catalyst for the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He was participating in the Sustainable Development Festival (Festival dello Sviluppo Sostenibile), organised by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), which is taking part in cities around the country between September 28 and October 14.

The annual festival which was held for the first time one year after the adoption by the United Nations in 2015 of the 17 SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, is intended to raise awareness about social, economic and environmental sustainability, in order to foster a cultural shift and to lobby the country’s leadership to comply with the agreements undertaken in the UN. It involves the participation of businesses, industry organisations, national and local administrations, universities and civil society.

Dr. Cavalieri spoke as a panellist during a high-level summit meeting on October 7, at which ASviS presented the results of a research project that looks at the relative success of the G20 countries in advancing the  SDGs, and considering areas of potential international cooperation among them. CIBJO actively supported and contributed to the research, which has been conducted during a period during which Italy holds the presidency of the G20, an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 of the world’s most economically advanced countries and the European Union. The keynote speech at the summit was delivered by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University in New York and President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Speaking during a panel discussion that considered ideas for a global recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Cavalieri pointed to the jewellery industry’s ability to empower societies and economies, particularly in economies where precious metals and gems are mined, farmed and harvested.

“Our goal must be that citizens of these countries should be able to leverage the natural resources with which they have been blessed into sustainable economic and social opportunity. Unlike in the past, where they were primarily regarded as a source of raw materials, our commitment now must be that they extend their involvement up the value chain, developing home-grown cutting and polishing industries, precious metal refineries, jewellery design and manufacturing hubs, and wholesale and retail trading networks. This does not mean undermining the existing centres. On the contrary, in an interconnected global industry we will all benefit from their development and the growth of the market in general,” Dr. Cavalieri stated.

The jewellery industry finds itself uniquely positioned to serve as a catalyst for economic and social development, Dr. Cavalieri said. All the countries in which raw materials are mined have centuries-old jewellery traditions, so the challenge is a not to create capacity in areas where none previously existed, but rather to adapt, build upon and upgrade knowledge and skills that are already present in the community. Furthermore, in certain fields, like pearl farmining, the industry can also impact positively on the region’s land and marine environment.

“The fact that the jewellery industry reaches the grass roots of almost any society means that we can play a critical role in advancing a range of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Dr. Cavalieri said. “They include SDG 1, ending poverty; SDG 5, gender equality; SDG 8, decent work and economic growth, SDG 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure; SDG 12, responsible consumption and production, SDG 13, climate action; SDG 14, life below water, SDG 15, life on land; SDG 16 peace, justice and stong institutions; and, in particular, SDG 17, partnerships for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

OCTOBER 6, 2021

With fewer than four weeks to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the fifth of this year’s CIBJO Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO’s new Technology Committee, headed by Stephane Fischler, the report focuses on disruptive technological breakthroughs in the jewellery and gemstone industry and trade, for which in the words of the author “it is possible to talk about the way things were before the innovation and how they were afterwards.”

As Mr. Fischler notes, for much of its history disruptive technological breakthroughs were concentrated in jewellery’s mining and manufacturing sectors, whereas the wholesale and retail trades continued to operate according to tried and proven business models. That began to shift with the growth of the Internet as a sales tool and the start of social media marketing, but even then many remained apprehensive because of uncertainty whether consumers were ready to purchase high-priced items online. However, 2020 and the start of the global pandemic proved to be a gamechanger. “With trading establishments intermittently prevented from opening their doors because of COVID-19 lockdowns and, even when they were not, restricted in the number of people they could permit on their premises, online marketing and sales capacity became a necessity, rather than an alternative for the more tech-savvy,” he writes.

The changes taking place in the trade, and particularly at the retail level, have turned consumer data into one the industry’s most valued commodities, Mr. Fischler states. For an organisation like CIBJO, which is concerned with global practices, this raises new questions. “Standards need to be created for how [data] is handled. How should it be securely stored, analysed and ultimately used? These are discussions taking place across the tech-world, and issues of controversy confounding the industry, the public and government regulators,” he writes.

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 Technology Committee’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

With fewer than five weeks to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the fourth of this year’s CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Diamond Commission, headed by Udi Sheintal, the report focuses on a three-part process to establish comprehensive standards for diamonds through the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). This is a project in which CIBJO has been closely involved.

As Mr. Sheintal recalls in the report, the first breakthrough in the process occurred in 2015, when ISO published International Standard 18323, which specified a set of permitted descriptors for the diamond industry that are meant to be unequivocally understood by consumers. It clarified that that “the denomination ‘diamond’ without further specification always implies ‘natural diamond.’”

The second milestone was registered in September 2020, when ISO published International Standard 24016, specifying the terminology, classification and the methods to be used for the grading and description of single unmounted polished diamonds over 0.25 carats in weight. The third part of the process is currently underway, and once complete will result in International Standard 6893. It will detail methods and terminology for the quality control of diamonds of 0.25 carats and less.

The convener of the CEN 410 Working Group, which prepared the European standard that ISO adopted unchanged to create EN ISO 18323 in 2015 was Harry Levy, Vice President of the CIBJO Diamond Commission, to whom there is special tribute in the report. The convener of TC174 Working Group 2 both for International Standard 18323 and now for the prospective International Standard 6893 is Jean-Pierre Chalain, the Diamond Commission’s other Vice President.

“When International Standard 6893 is eventually published by ISO, a complete set of standards for the diamond industry will have been achieved, a truly historic accomplishment,” Mr. Sheintal writes in the report. “But since standards are enforced at the country level, the most desirable consequence would be that these international standards would be used to create equivalent national standards.”

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 Diamond Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

With fewer than six weeks to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the third of this year’s CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Huw Daniel, the report reviews the year in the gold, platinum, palladium and silver markets and looks at how they fared in a world economy in the shadow of a pandemic.

“In many ways the pandemic has simply accentuated the roles these metals have always played in providing a safe haven to investors,” Mr. Daniel wrote. “Yet, we also see new trends emerging in new applications, with new gold and platinum jewellery alloys that are pushing the boundaries of design, ensuring their precious allure will continue to capture the eyes and hearts of a new generation of consumers.”

In general, all four precious metal markets experienced robust sales, with prices rebounding from the lows they had experienced during the disruptive turmoil of 2020. Because all four metals are considered safe haven investment assets, they experienced what appeared to be a temporary dip in value following a meeting in July of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), where the possibility of tapering, or a reduction in the pace of monthly bond purchases, was discussed.

A clear factor in creating robust market conditions was the strong recovery in jewellery demand, and innovation in the development of new products and the savvy use of social media marketing. The result of these innovations in China, writes Mr. Daniel, “has been to revitalize sales of pure gold (23 and 24 karat) at the expense of 18K gold, as new levels of hardness permit greater design innovation at these more attractive purity levels.”

The CIBJO Precious Metals Commission President also noted a growing tendency by both government and NGOs to maintain close scrutiny over supply chain integrity. He points to the upcoming review of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission of its Green Guides, scheduled for next year. “The Green Guides regulate environmental claims made across industries, not just in jewellery – and the FTC’s revision process will be the source of any changes it makes going forward,” he notes.

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 Precious Metals Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

With fewer than seven weeks to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the second of this year’s CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Commission, headed by Philip Olden, the report recounts how efforts to enhance supply chain integrity during the COVID pandemic continued uninterrupted, and even were accelerated.

“During this time, the attention of consumers, media, governments and civil society in the jewellery industry, its responsible practices and the integrity of its supply chains has continued unabated,” Mr. Olden wrote. “Our stakeholders justifiably continue to hold us to the highest possible levels of integrity and expect that, not only are we doing no harm, but that we are a force for good in the world.”

The report looks specifically at tools and programmes introduced by CIBJO during the past 18 months, all designed to assist members of the jewellery, gemstone and precious metals supply chains implement the principles of responsible sourcing.

Key among them was the launch in April 2021 of the Responsible Sourcing Online Toolkit, which is intended to enable all participants in the sector to do due diligence on their supply chains in accordance with the CIBJO Responsible Sourcing Blue Book. Available at no cost, the Toolkit comprises nine modules, each one of which relates to a specific section of the Blue Book. Each module provides a detailed explanation of that section, and also a number of downloadable files in MS Word or PDF format, which can be used to do the due diligence described. They include templates, forms, sample declarations and additional information.

“CIBJO remains committed to providing guidance, support and education relating to Responsible Sourcing and Sustainable Development in the global jewellery and gemstones industry, and recognises that this is a process of continuous improvement,” Mr. Olden writes.

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 Responsible Sourcing Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.