CIBJO Releases Precious Metals Commission Special Report

(IDEX Online) – CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has released the second of its commissions' Special Reports ahead of the 2014 CIBJO Congress in Moscow in May.

Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Michael Allchin, the report looks at CIBJO's lobbying efforts in Europe in respect to pending legislation concerning imports of gold from areas of conflict and a redraft of the EU's nickel release standard.

Allchin details in the report trips taken to Brussels, where CIBJO officials explained to the EU Commission why any legally binding legislation in relation to sourcing gold from conflict areas might actually have devastating unintended consequences in those conflict areas, while adding red tape and economic harm to the industry in the European Union.

Allchin also recounts discussions in Brussels about changing what he describes as "the damaging redraft of the Nickel Release Standard EN 1811," where slight changes to the method for measuring nickel release, along with a fundamental change to the way the results of the tests were interpreted, meant that in real terms the amount of nickel release allowed in jewelry was substantially lowered, while a "no decision" category simply created unnecessary confusion.

The 2014 CIBJO Congress will take place from May 19 to 21, with pre-congress meetings on May 17 and 18. The congress will be hosted by the Russian Jewellers' Guild, whose headquarters will also serve as the main congress venue.