COLOURED STONE COMMISSION The Extraordinary Challenge of Coloured Stones By Charles Abouchar, President CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission A special session on the integrity of the coloured gemstone sector supply chain, organised last November during the first day of the 2017 CIBJO Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, set the tone for a great deal of discussion during the months that followed. The session had been organised by CIBJO together with the Responsible Jewellery Council, and moderated by Anne-Marie Fleury, RJC s Standards and Impacts Director. As she explained, the council was conducting a study, with the goal of developing ethical social and environmental practices for the coloured gemstone sector, which would complement its Code of Practices already in place for diamonds and precious metals. PAGE 1
The decision to address the challenges posed by the coloured gemstone sector at this later stage was not coincidental, and stems mainly from the significant structural differences between it and the diamond and precious metals businesses. With diamonds, approximately 90 percent of the rough coming into the market is produced by just six companies, and gold mining is also dominated by major corporations. On the other hand, in the coloured gemstone sector there is only one large producer operating multinationally, and even its market share and geographical reach are relatively limited. More than 80 percent of rough coloured gemstones that come into the pipeline is produced by tens of thousands of artisanal miners, at a great many small-scale mine sites around the world. But it is not only the logistical difficulties that make the coloured gemstone sector such a tough nut to crack. The potential of an overly cumbersome responsible sourcing system having unintended consequences is also a critical factor. Policies that could economically disadvantage artisanal or small-scale miners, by restricting their ability to be fully involved in the business, could place at risk literally millions of ordinary people whose lives and communities are currently supported by gemstone mining. Speaking from the audience during the session in Bangkok, the noted ruby and sapphire expert Richard Hughes alluded to the high stakes that are involved. Don t harm the people you want to regulate, he stated. A GLOBAL POLICY FOR RESPONSIBLE PRACTICES Supply chain integrity was one of the key subjects on the agenda of a meeting held at the JCK Show in Las Vegas in Charles Abouchar, President of the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission. June, where CIBJO, the International Coloured Gemstone Association (ICA) and the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) resolved to create a joint policy document which would outline responsible practices for the global coloured gemstone sector. The project is still ongoing, but following the meeting CIBJO produced an internal paper to frame the World Jewellery Confederation s position. It began by defining the term responsible practices, which it expressed as the steps necessary to ensure that gemstones are sourced from ethically responsible suppliers, taking reasonable measures to mitigate any negative social, economic and environmental impacts that may result from the mining, processing and trade of gemstones. Responsible practices, it added, must Emmanuel Piat, Vice President of the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission. Nilam Alawdeen, Vice President of the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission. PAGE 2
also include measures to ensure positive impacts on the lives and wellbeing of the communities and countries where gemstones are produced and processed, helping create sustainable economic and social opportunities at the grassroots level. In its position paper, CIBJO insisted that to the greatest degree possible any measures proposed to promote responsible practices should not unreasonably disadvantage smaller and medium-sized enterprises, nor should it handicap certain gemstones because they are mined and handled exclusively by companies managed by artisanal miners. A CODE OF BEST PRACTICES IS REQUIRED The systems developed in the diamond and precious metals sectors include chokepoints, which are stages in the chain of distribution through which almost all merchandise passes, allowing them to serve as junctures where the goods can be independently monitored. In the diamond sector these are represented by the national authorities operating within the Kimberley Process system, and in the precious metals sector these tend to be the smelters. But in the coloured stones sector, the CIBJO position paper recognised that, currently, with the range of different gemstones and the number and geographic diversity of gemstone miners, the creation of industry-wide chokepoints is objectively an impossible task. The joint responsible practices document agreed to by CIBJO, ICA and AGTA, it therefore states, should represent a code of best practices, demonstrating a commitment to integrity in the supply chain, to the best ability of each individual participant. Apprehension had been expressed during the meeting in Las Vegas concerning existing stocks in the coloured gemstone sector following the introduction of an industrywide responsible practices system. Many companies, it was noted, have been holding onto merchandise that they originally purchased years and sometimes decades ago. The CIBJO position paper recognised this phenomenon, stating that the proposed responsible sourcing document should not disadvantage historic inventories. The position paper additionally noted that, while CIBJO does not provide responsible sourcing certification, nor does it endorse the system of any international standards organisation, it recognises the right of individual companies and organisations to seek certification by such bodies, among them the Responsible Jewellery Council, including third-party auditing. CIBJO will work with bodies like RJC to try and ensure that the systems that they apply recognise the unique challenges and difficulties faced by members of the coloured gemstone sector. In CIBJO s opinion, while it would not necessarily be the obligation of the representative organisations endorsing the joint responsible practices document to police and enforce compliance among its members, in the event of any demonstrable gross violation of the document s provisions by an individual or company, and following proper judicial due process by a recognised body, the relevant representative organisation should be prepared to take appropriate measures against that member, including suspension and/or expulsion from its ranks. CIBJO is currently in the process of formulating a Responsible PAGE 3
CIBJO Special Report Sourcing Guidance for all jewellery and gemstone industry participants, including members of the coloured gemstone sector. It will be presented at the CIBJO Congress in Bogotá. These guidelines would not replace or contradict the joint responsible practices document being worked upon by CIBJO, ICA and AGTA, but rather would encompass it, and place it in the context of other responsible sourcing codes being implemented elsewhere in the greater jewellery and gemstone industry. FTC GUIDELINES FOR COLOURED GEMSTONES The revision of the Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries, released by the U. S. Federal Trade Commission in June contain a number of rules that are specific to the coloured gemstone sector in the United States. The proper disclosure of composite gemstone products, which has been the subject of considerable discussion within CIBJO, and relates to items made with gemstone material and any amount of filler or binder, such as lead glass, is addressed in this edition of the FTC guides. The latest version expressly prohibits such products from being referred to with an unqualified gemstone name, and further states that calling them treated [gemstone] does not adequately disclose the true nature of the product. It similarly forbids products with any amount of filler or binder from being called a laboratory-grown [gemstone], laboratory-created [gemstone], [manufacturer name]-created [gemstone] or synthetic [gemstone]. The recommended terms for such materials provided by the FTC guides are composite [gemstone], hybrid PAGE 4 [gemstone] and/or manufactured [gemstone]. Over and above that, they should be clearly and conspicuously be qualified as not having the same properties as the actual gemstone referred to. A new section appears in the FTC guides, which advises marketers that it is unfair or deceptive to mark or describe any gemstone with incorrect varietal names. Thus, terms like yellow emerald to describe golden beryl or heliodor, or green amethyst to describe prasiolite are now prohibited.
But the new version removes a prohibition that had been listed in the previous edition of guides that stated that it is unfair or deceptive to use the word gem to describe, identify, or refer to a ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, or other industry product that does not possess the beauty, symmetry, rarity, and value necessary for qualification as a gem. The revised FTC guides state that marketers of man-made gemstones may use the word cultured to describe their products, on condition that they clearly and conspicuously add descriptive terminology that communicates to consumers that they are not a mined stones. These other descriptors could be laboratory-grown, laboratory-created and [manufacturer name]- created. The revised FTC guides retains its prohibition of descriptors like real, genuine, natural, precious, semi-precious and similar terms to describe synthetic and other artificial gemstones. The Coloured Stone Commission will carefully look into the changes made in the FTC Guides to determine if or how they may affect the CIBJO rules. Nonetheless, it must be made clear that CIBJO represents the global trade in its entirety, will act to best protect the interests of everyone concerned. A SHORTER AND SIMPLER BLUE BOOK The CIBJO s Gemstone Book is the most universallyrecognised guide to rules, regulations, standards and nomenclature in the coloured stone sector. But with the growing range and sophistication of treatments and artificial products, it has over the years has become increasingly detailed, technical and difficult for the layperson to navigate. Cognizant of this, the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission decided at the 2017 CIBJO Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, to develop a simplified version of the book. It is not meant to replace the original, but rather to serve as an abridged guide that the average retailers and their staffs can more easily understand and use regularly. It is a document that would be more simple to translate into multiple languages. In the process of achieving this, a second guide called Dos and Do Nots is being drafted by CIBJO s Sector A, for all gem-related products, providing a simple overview for the retail trade. It is designed to help people avoid making basic mistakes when selling mounted or unmounted diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls and related artificial products. When approved for publication, we hope that these new documents will assist the user to better promote and sell gem-related products, and in so doing elevate the importance of all the Blue Books produced by CIBJO. SEPERATING FACT FROM OPINION Not all information appearing on a gemstone gemmological report is necessarily accurate. Factors separating reports issued by different laboratories, when presented with the same evidence, generally are related to instances when professional opinions are called for. COLORED STONE COMMISSION PAGE 5
Take, for example, colour descriptions. They often are given commercial names like Pigeon Blood, Royal Blue, and Cornflower Blue. No definitive scientific definition for these colours exist, meaning that the decision to describe colours in rubies or sapphires using these descriptors is determined by the individual laboratories, based on their own guidelines and experience. This often leads to confusion and sometimes even misrepresentation. A similar issue is encountered when it comes to estimating the volume of filler material infused into emeralds and other gemstones. Since exact measurement cannot be provided, it becomes a personal judgement, and so again a professional opinion by the laboratory issuing the report. The same is often the case when country of origin is listed. In an effort to achieve more transparency, the CIBJO Coloured Stone Commission has been working together with the CIBJO Gemmological Commission to study the possibility of objectively separating scientific results from professional opinions on laboratory reports. We hope that once gemmological laboratories accept this practice, consumers will better understand that parts of a report reflect the opinion of the issuing laboratory, and that such opinions may differ from one laboratory to another. This topic will be discussed at length at the forthcoming CIBJO Congress in Bogotá. PHOTO CREDITS Cover photo by Vincent Pardieu for Greenland Ruby. Page 3 photo by Muzo Emerald Colombia. Page 4 tourmaline photo by Angelsover on Pixelbay. Page 4 amethyst photo by Carole Smile on Unsplash. Page 5 photo by Muzo Emerald Colombia. Page 6 photo by Muzo Emerald Colombia. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, 2018 www.cibjo.org COLORED STONE COMMISSION PAGE 6