This content was first published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review no. 23 in 2026. The information provided here is therefore current as of the original publication date.
In Pavia, during the National Conference of Gemmology, Michele Macrì offered a clear and lucid assessment of the current state of the discipline, in Italy and internationally. Between strengths and weaknesses, the picture that emerges is far from reassuring. In Italy, dialogue between the gemstone industry and politics remains almost absent, as repeatedly failed legislative proposals clearly show. Professional associations proceed with excessive caution, as illustrated by their reluctance to fully adopt the guidelines for the correct sale of gemstones.
Consumer trust remains the most valuable asset of the jewellery market. Underestimating its protection has been a strategic error, the consequences of which are now evident. It is precisely here that gemmology should assert itself: responsibly placing knowledge, method, and independence at the service of the entire supply chain. At the same time, social media amplify inaccurate information, while self-styled experts display non-existent qualifications and circulate reports lacking credibility, reaching an increasingly wide audience.
Research, too, advances without a shared strategic framework. Dialogue with the academic world remains uneven, and the major challenges facing the industry — from artificial intelligence to the determination of origin and treatments, from the development of robust analytical protocols to the economic sustainability of mining communities — still await long-term programmes capable of giving them direction and coherence. Qualified Italian gemmologists are not lacking, yet too often their work goes unrecognised and under-resourced, without the visibility their contribution would warrant.
For many reasons, Michele Macrì’s measured appeal, framed through Martin Luther King’s “dream”, deserves to be taken seriously. What is needed is courage, not rhetoric. What is needed is serious investigative work that sheds light on the industry’s grey areas. A step back is required from the paralysing underlying malaise — the “gemological narcissism” that fragments the field and hinders collective progress. At the same time, a step forward is needed towards peer-based representation, grounded in shared responsibility and professional accountability.
What can IGR do? It can be what the best journals have always been: not merely instruments of information, but cultural infrastructures. Places where knowledge circulates, experiences meet, differences enter into dialogue, and a professional community begins to recognize itself as such.
Editorial by Paolo Minieri, published on IGR – Italian Gemological Review #23 – Autumn 2026
