CIBJO Releases Coloured Stone Commission Report

(IDEX Online) – CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has released the fourth of its commissions' Special Reports as the body gears up for its annual Congress in Moscow next month.

Prepared by the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission, headed by Nilam Alawdeen, the report focuses on the proper disclosure of gemstone treatments and modifications, and in particular about how lead glass-filled rubies should be properly qualified

Alawdeen explains that, in the case of heavily glass-filled rubies, CIBJO requires that they be classified as "Ruby and Glass, and described as a "manufactured/composite material or product."

In addition, in order to properly protect consumers, the inherent instability of heavily glass filled rubies and other varieties of corundum should also be conveyed as part of the disclosure requirement.

Relating to the global method of colored gemstone disclosure that CIBJO, the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) and the International Colored Stone Association (ICA) agreed upon in 2010, Alawdeen writes: "The international disclosure coding system has been in existence for four years already, but unfortunately it's still seldom used. Consequently, this is an opportune time to remind the industry of the need for disclosure and traceability, and that a practical system is available to do this."

However, Alawdeen added the disclosure codes are meant for the use of the trade and industry only. A more detailed explanation of the treatment or modification must be provided to the consumer.