ABOVE: The Coloured Stone Commission in session at the 2016 CIBJO Congress.

OCTOBER 27, 2016

Meeting at the 2016 CIBJO Congress, members of the Coloured Stone Commission debated about moving towards uniform treatment disclosure, so that all are specific, rather some being general, as frequently is the case at present.

Coloured Stone Commission President Nilam Alawdeen noted that market realities made this a difficult task to achieve. There was also a lengthy discussion on gemstone treatment codes and how it would be possible to best apply them.

The consensus among commission members was to move ahead with a uniform disclosure proposal. It was agreed that Mr. Alawdeen will work on the proposal, together with Thomas Lind, CIBJO Sector A Vice President, and Charles Abouchar, Coloured Stone Commission Vice President.

The meeting also heard a presentation from Andrew Cody from Australia about a possible opal guide, which would be separate from CIBJO Gemstone Blue Book, an idea that was originally proposed at the 2014 CIBJO Congress in Moscow. It was stressed that such a guide would have to include all types of opal, from all regions of the world.

Mr. Cody gave a detailed explanation of the science and other aspects of opals, saying they are mined in relatively few countries, come in a wide range of types and are difficult to classify.

The opal industry in Australia, the largest source of opals and opal jewellery, would be pleased to produce the opal guide, Mr. Cody said.

 

There was also discussion on the issue of undeterminable treatments, for which mention of which are sometimes left out of gemstone reports. Commenting on the practice of not commenting or leaving a blank space on a gemstone reports, Mr. Alawdeen said he believed the trade would be better served if the word “undeterminable” was included on reports.

The commission also heard a review of the status of revisions to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Guide for the jewellery industry, and about the Open Forum on Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing in the jewellery industry, which took place in New York last March.