CIBJO’s popular Jewellery Industry Voices webinar and seminar series kicked off its fourth season at the VICENZAORO show in Vicenza, Italy on Sunday, January 22, 2022, with two hybrid seminars. The first seminar/webinar was entitled “The branding of the jewellery market,” and it looked at the growing dominance of brands, which today account for more than half of fine jewellery sales, focusing on how they are promoting responsible sourcing and sustainability principles to enhance their own identity, as well as the value of their products.

The seminar’s panellists included Esther Oberbeck, Senior Vice President of Group Strategy Development and Strategy Analytics at the De Beers Group, which at the end of 2022 released a report that highlighted the growing role of brands and virtue marketing as dominant trends; Lita Asscher, Co-CEO of Royal Asscher Company, a leading diamond brand; Iris Van der Veken, Executive Director of Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030, the new industry group founded by Kering and Cartier, which is working to create a fully sustainable industry that is resilient to climate change, preserves resources and fosters inclusiveness; and Luca Buccellati, CEO of Buccellati Holding SPA, the prestigious Milan-headquartered jewellery maison, which like Cartier is part of the Richemont Group.

The moderator was Edward Johnson.