CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, concluded its 2006 annual conference in Vancouver. The conference ended with the announcement that CIBJO has become the only organization in the jewelry sector ever to receive official consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. The congress ratified the updated versions of CIBJO’s Diamond and Pearl Blue Books, and accepted modifications made to the Colored Stone Blue Book.

 

The confederation’s Diamond Commission presented its updated Diamond Blue Book, which was unanimously accepted by the Assembly of Delegates. Outgoing Diamond Commission President Harry Levy said that the new document now reflects the current developments in the diamond jewelry market. “[It] has been re-written, simplifying things so that the consumer can easily understand the terminology used and understand how to read a grading report,” he said. 

 

The CIBJO Assembly of Delegates also voted unanimously to approve the updated version of the Pearl Blue Book. According to the new version, the term pearl refers exclusively to natural pearl, while cultured pearl and imitation pearl need to be described as such.

 

All the new blue books now comply with the format used by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

 

Another decision reached by the Assembly is that the Laboratory Commission will be dissolved in its current form, and it will now be known as the Gemological Commission. As such, it will no longer deal with the business aspects of laboratories, but will deal exclusively with gemological and technical aspects concerning the trade and laboratories.

 

CIBJO intends to issue an annual list of gemological laboratories, which will include the name of applicants who are found by the Gemological Commission to comply with the guidelines described in a prospective Laboratories Book.

 

Following GIA’s now-postponed plan to grade synthetic diamonds, it was decided that CIBJO will join the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) to negotiate with laboratories about only grading synthetic diamonds with wording that is distinct and different from that used for natural diamonds.

 

It was also decided to take disciplinary actions against members that do not comply with the World Diamond Council System of Warranties, if necessary.

 

CIBJO’s assembly unanimously elected Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri for a further term as CIBJO president. He has held the post since March 2001.

 

The Assembly of Delegates confirmed that the site of the next CIBJO Congress, scheduled for March 2007, is Cape Town, South Africa.

 

The following office holders have been ratified at the congress:

 

Presidential Council

Gaetano Cavalieri (President)

Marc-Alain Christen (Financial Officer)

Matthew A. Runci

Richard Peplow

Ernie Blom

James Evans Lombe

Cecilia Gardner

ABN AMRO Bank representative (to be announced by ABN AMRO)

James Courage, Platinum Guild International

 

Sector 1

President: Uri Ariel, Canada

Vice-President: Aaron Shum, People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong)

 

Sector 2

President: John Howie, Australia

Vice-President: Bernadette Pinet-Cuoq, France

 

Sector 3

President: Roland Naftule, USA

Vice-President: Thomas Lind, Germany

Vice-President: Harry Levy, U.K.

 

Colored Stone Commission

President: Vichian Veerasaksri, Thailand

Vice-President: Nilam Alawdeen, Japan

 

Pearl Commission

President: Martin Coeroli, France (French Polynesia)

Vice-President: Shigeru Akamatsu, Japan

 

Gemological Commission - Dealing with Gemological and Grading issues

President: H?ja Garcia-Guillerminet, France

Vice-President: Jean-Pierre Chalain, Switzerland

 

Diamond Commission

President: Moti Besser, Israel

Vice-President: Tim Dabson, UK

 

Marketing & Education

President: Tawhid Abdullah, United Arab Emirates

Vice-President: Jonathan Kendall, UK

 

Precious Metals Commission

President: Gianni Cacchione, Italy

Vice-President: Michael Allchin, UK

 

Ethics Commission

President: Matthew A. Runci, USA

Vice-President: James Evans Lombe, UK

Vice-President: Cecilia L. Gardner, USA