CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, wrapped up its annual congress today at the at the International Congress Centre (ICM) in Munich Germany. During the four-day event, some 135 delegates from national jewellery, gemstones and precious metals associations from around the world, as well as representatives of many of the largest multinational corporations involved in the industry, considered and debated a range of issues on the agenda of the international jewellery sector.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation reiterates its endorsement of the Kimberley Process and the World Diamond Council’s Supportive System of Warranties. CIBJO strongly believes that the KP has prevented and will continue to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds into the legitimate markets. To that extent, CIBJO expects full and timely implementation of the stringent controls pertaining to the Marange diamond production in Zimbabwe that were agreed at the KP Plenary meeting in Swakopmund, Namibia, November 5, 2009.

Delivering the keynote speech during the Ceremonial Session on day three of the 2010 CIBJO Congress in Munch, Germany, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri said that while the jewellery sector had successfully navigated the worst of the 2008 and 2009 global financial crisis, caution was still necessary.

The Kimberley Process remains the best available solution to the intolerable situation in the Marange diamond fields of Zimbabwe, said Eli Izhakoff, the chairman of the World Diamond Council, in an address to the 2010 CIBJO Congress, on Sunday in Munich, Germany.

The Marketing and Education Commission of CIBJO has today launched the “Diamonds, Gemstones, Pearls and Precious Metals: A Consumer Guide” at its annual Congress in Munich, Germany.

Meeting at the 2010 CIBJO Congress in Munich, Germany, the Pearl Commission focused on the status of natural pearls, which some have perceived an erosion in their preferred status.

The CIBJO Association Executive Networking Commission (CAENCOM), which was first created at the 2009 CIBJO Congress in Istanbul, has held its first working session at the 2010 CIBJO Congress in Munich, Germany.

CIBJO’s Diamond Commission made a momentous decision today, by voting to accept descriptive terms other than “synthetic” for diamonds grown in a non-natural setting. The decision, which was made at the 2010 CIBJO Congress in Munich, brings the organisation in line with the position adopted earlier by other major industry groups.

History was made during the second day of the 2010 CIBJO Congress as the CIBJO Gemmological Commission unanimously approved the amended second draft of the Gemmological Laboratory Book. It will join CIBJO’s widely used set of Blue Books, which include Diamonds, Coloured Stones, Pearls and Precious Metals.

CIBJO’s Coloured Stone Commission has officially endorsed a set of “modification codes,” which are meant to be used only within the trade to disclose treatments on both a national and international level. The codes were developed in coordination with the International Coloured Gemstone Association (ICA) and the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), which means that there is now a single coding system that will be used and understood by almost all members of the global colored gemstone trade.