On the second day of the CIBJO Congress which is underway in Salvador, in the Brazilian State of Bahia, the CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri has released a special report, covering the organisation’s activities and issues on the industry agenda. The President’s report covers a wide range of subjects, including the state of small and medium-sized jewellery companies, and ethical issues related to grading and grading reports, both which were highlighted in his speech yesterday during the Opening Session of the congress. Other important subjects include the growing role of Latin America in the jewellery market, the Corporate Social Responsibility compliance system being developed by CIBJO and the Branded Trust Foundation, transparency and disclosure in the industry, CIBJO’s relationship with the United Nations and carbon neutrality in the jewellery sector.
A special session was held on the second day of the 2015 CIBJO Congress, focusing specifically on the subject of grading and gemmological laboratory ethics. It tackled issues pertaining to diamond grading inconsistencies, country of origin determinations for colored gemstones, and treatment or non-natural disclosures on gemological grading reports.
Another important subject that came up for review on the second day of the Congress by the Organizations Precious Metal Commission was the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States, since 2014 was the first full year in which reporting was required of publicly traded companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission, about the gold they use in their products and where it is sourced.
Another subject taken up for discussion by the Pearl Commission on the seond day of the 2015 CIBJO Congress was the CIBJO Guide for Grading Natural Pearls and Cultured Pearls, which had been submitted by Nick Paspaley of Australia. Work on the Guide began following a decision at the Moscow Congress in 2014, which called on the Pearl Commission to consider producing a document that describes a uniform system for pearl grading, said Pearl Commission President Ken Scarratt.
