The Presidents of The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) expressed their support for the ongoing efforts by labs led by Gemmological Institute of India (GII) and National Gemstone Testing Centre (NGTC) to develop a harmonisation of grading and testing standards across the Asia Pacific region.

Speaking at the seminar held at the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show last week, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri called on the labs to lobby the Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) of APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Alliance, to develop common standards and nomenclature in the 21 member countries - not only for diamonds, but also coloured gemstones, pearls, precious coral and precious metals, and possibly precious materials like jade. He urged them to consider aligning these standards with the relevant CIBJO Blue Books.

Dr Cavalieri also called on the labs to “play a greater role in helping formulate the Blue Book standards”, and help ensure they meet the requirements of “markets through the Asia-Pacific area".

Speaking in a similar vein, Clement Sabbagh, ICA President said it was necessary for the global trade to “be talking the same language when it comes to basic descriptions of gemstones”, emphasising that this was also in the best interests of the consumer, “who is confused by different nomenclature on different laboratory reports, for the same gemstone”.

He said that ICA every year holds the GILC - the Gemstone Industry & Laboratory Conference, a space for industry peers to discuss worldwide gemstone issues like ethical practices, nomenclature, consumer confidence, terminology and accurate use of laboratories for certification and grading purposes. “One of the great accomplishments to come out of the GILC was the creation of the LMHC, the Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee, where several major gem labs actually confer with each other to establish a common language”, he said.

At a second seminar held during the show, organised by the Gemmological Association of Hong Kong (GAHK) together with the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification and the NGTC, Dr Cavalieri also spoke about jade, jadeite, omphacite and kosmochlor, which in China collectively are referred to as “Fei Cui”.

Noting that this is an excellent example of a product and an industry that has not been transported or translated well outside of its primary market, which of course is China, Dr. Cavalieri said that “to properly internationalise the product, it is essential that the testing and grading standards be internationalised as well."

He said that while most gemmologists outside of China and Hong Kong have preferred to identify the materials covered by "Fei Cui" individually, or sometimes in the case of mixtures, by combining the internationally agreed nomenclature - namely jadeite, omphacite and or kosmochlor, "the Fei Cui testing standards that have been developed are certainly more appropriate for a major market, such as that which exists in China, and the one that could potentially develop elsewhere in other parts of the world".

He said that CIBJO was “open to discussing changes”, and felt it “is possible to align the Fei Cui testing standards with the CIBJO Blue Books”, pointing out that “to do that successfully we require the experience, expertise and wealth of knowledge that has been acquired by the Gemmological Association of Hong Kong and others in this area”.

Pic caption: CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri (centre) seen with Liang Zhenjie, Deputy Director of NGTC, and Eddie Fan, Chairman of GAHK, during the seminar on the Internationalisation of the Fei Cui Standard