VICENZAORO January 2017, the leading event of the international jewelry industry and the first jewelry trade show to open the international calendar in 2017, organized by the Italian Exhibition Group will be held at the Fiera di Vicenza Exhibition Center from January 20 to 25, 2017. The show taking place in nine halls, with a floor area of 29,000 sq. meters will showcase products from 1,500 brands worldwide, from 36 different countries and from all Italian gold districts, with over 500 international buyers taking part. A packed program of meetings, workshops and conferences will also be held on the sidelines, during the period of the show.

One such important seminar due to be held on Sunday, January 22, 2017, from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm in Room Tiziano B (Hall 7.1) of the Fiera di Vicenza Exhibition Center, organized by the CIBJO – The World Jewelry Confederation – in association with the Italian Exhibition Group and Club Degli Orafi Italia – is titled “Defending the Integrity of Jewelry’s Supply Chain” and will be moderated by Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, the President of CIBJO. The seminar will be the latest in a series of educational events organized by CIBJO and the Italian Exhibition Group, which is part of a program to support Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in the jewelry sector, endorsed by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri

According to the CIBJO press release, dated January 18, 2017, “The requirement that all jewelry components be shown to have been responsibly and ethically sourced, handled and traded has become a central tenet of the luxury markets in the 21st Century, and it has led to the development of a service sector that provides the means and methods of ensuring the integrity of the supply chain. Compliance with accepted codes of practice is increasingly becoming a condition for doing business with some of the largest companies in the business.”

“For many members of the jewelry industry, the process of implementing and verifying compliance with codes of ethical practice can be daunting, and is a source of considerable anxiety. This is particularly the case with smaller and medium-sized companies, where the cost and effort of meeting requirements is perceived to be restrictive.”

The seminar organized by the CIBJO and the Italian Exhibition Group aims at addressing such concerns and providing a practical road map for businesses seeking to meet the challenge. Some of the organizations that will take part in the seminar are leading members of the responsible supply chain service sector, such as the Responsible Jewelry Council, a key international standards-setting and certification organisation for the jewelry industry and UL Consumer and Retail Services, one of the world’s largest providers of supply chain auditing and monitoring services. The seminar will also focus specially on the supply chain integrity in the precious metals sector.

Matteo Marzotto (Vice-President Italian Exhibition Group) and Lorenzo Cagnoni (President Italian Exibition Group)

Commenting on the holding of the seminar CIBJO president and moderator of the seminar, Gaetano Cavalieri said, “In the jewelry industry, where we work daily with precious objects, our reputation ultimately is our most valuable asset of all. Indeed, if our reputation is discounted, then so is everything else we do. And in today’s business environment, it is not enough just to do the right thing; you must be seen to be doing the right thing as well – not only to defend your own reputation, but also those of your colleagues up and down the chain of distribution. How practically to do that, in a fair and reasonable manner, will be the subject of this extremely important seminar.”

Matteo Marzotto, Vice Executive President of the Italian Exhibition Group, one of the co-organizers of the seminar, expressing satisfaction with the formal recognition of United Nations Economic and Social Council of the long term efforts of the company in promoting responsible sourcing, said, “The principles of CSR and sustainability in the gold and jewelry industries are constant themes at VICENZAORO, but this January’s show is focusing specifically on ‘Responsible Gold.’ The goal of the show, and particularly of the responsible sourcing seminar on January 22, is not simply to pay lip-service to the concept, but to provide media, participants and visitors at the show with the knowledge and tools necessary to meet both the industry’s and the consumer’s expectations. For us at the Italian Exhibition Group, it is most appropriate that just a few days earlier, thanks to CIBJO, we stepped into the new year with formal recognition from the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the important work that is being done in this regard for years by our company.”

Seminar speakers and panel members of the seminar include the following :-
1) Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, President of CIBJO
2) Matteo Marzotto, Vice Executive President of the Italian Exhibition Group
3) Gabriele Aprea, President of Club degli Orafi Italia
4) Dr. Wilfried Hoerner, Chairman of the Responsible Jewellery Council and co-CEO at ArgorHeraeus SA, a leading Swiss precious metals refiner
5) Andrew Bone, Executive Director of the of the Responsible Jewellery Council
6) Francesca Angeloni, Business Development Manager for the Jewelry and Watch Industry in Europe at UL Consumer and Retail Services
7) Daphne Guelker, Responsible Sourcing Program Manager at UL Consumer and Retail Services
8) Marco Quadri, Director of Industrial Products at Argor-Heraeus SA