This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 5 in 2018. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
Be careful not to break the new toy. Responsibly sourced gemstones might result in inconsistent practices failing to represent the category as a whole but generating an exclusion mechanism instead.
CIBJO, as the most powerful representative Association of jewelers worldwide, seems to be aware of this danger and warns against too simplistic solutions. Before the Emerald Symposium to be held in October in Bogotá where new ethical regulations will be announced, some aspects are clear. In a report released in September 2018 under the supervision of the Colored Stone Commission’s President Mr. Charles Abouchar, some principles that inspired the search for a shared Code of good practices have been clarified. The main purpose consists in allowing integrity to the gemstone supply chain, like it has been set up for diamonds. Color stones don’t offer the conditions that allowed the specialists to intervene in sectors dominated by big players, such as precious metals or diamonds, a business in the hands of six large manufacturers controlling 90% of the raw material. Less is the number of decision makers and faster and more effective the construction of a reliable custody chain will be, granting integrity and legitimacy. On the contrary over 80% of color stones enter the market through small artisanal companies. This is why the construction works to set up an adequate custody chain to safely deliver to consumers responsibly sourced gemstones are blocked since some time. Mr. Abouchar seems skeptical on the shortcuts recently elaborated by the market aimed to integrate vertically huge mining companies, manufactures, distribution and finally consumers. This is a threat for small mining companies.
The document of CIBJO is clear on this and quotes the words Dick Hughes addressed at the previous Congress held in Bangkok: “Don’t harm the people you want to regulate”. The report is explicit: “The potential of an overly cumbersome responsible sourcing system having unintended consequences…could economically disadvantage artisanal or small-scale miners, …millions of ordinary people whose lives and communities are currently supported by gemstone mining”.
After Bogotá, Tucson will take the word. In its 2019 edition Gübelin will announce meaningful developments about the use of nanoparticles, its native and licensed system created to trace emeralds and other precious stones. The use of this procedure, supposed to work for gemstones as the laser inscription did for diamonds, will be probably offered to all applicants.
Gem News published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #5, Autumn 2018
