The 2019 CIBJO Congress concluded in Bahrain, with the World Jewellery Confederation’s Board of Directors voting to establish a series of new committees. One among them was to focus on operating practices, specifically to the laboratory-grown diamond trade; and another to focus on impacts of new technologies on the jewellery, gemstone and precious metals sectors.
According to the Board, the Laboratory-Grown Diamond Committee will operate under the umbrella of the CIBJO’s Diamond Commission. It is being created from an ad hoc working group, which was established at the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Colombia; and over the past year prepared a guidance document that was present at a session in Bahrain. The working group included CIBJO officers and officials, representatives both the laboratory-grown diamond sector, the natural diamond sector and a leading gemological laboratory.
CIBJO’s objective in creating the Laboratory-grown Diamond Committee was to formulate a set of working rules that will enable the natural and laboratory-grown diamond sectors to work alongside each other, and grow and flourish but not at the expense of the other, and maintain the consumer’s trust and confidence.
The new Technology Committee will draw on expertise from across the jewellery sector, with the goals of developing understandings of the disruptive technologies that are likely to impact the industry in the coming years. Among them is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which could be transformative for the jewellery and gemstone sector, because it takes over decision-making functions that to date have been performed by people.
The third new committee established by the Board will be charged with fundraising for CIBJO.
CIBJO’s new Board of Directors were sworn in 2019 election, with Dr Cavalieri, President being confirmed for another two-year term in office. Two new vice presidents were elected to serve along the CIBJO’s long-time Vice President Roland Naftule. They are Jonathan Kendall of the De Beers Group of Companies and Pramod Agarwal, the current Chairman of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
