In a bid to strengthen the precious coral industry’s position as an environmentally sensitive business sector, the Pacific Precious Coral Forum was held from 17 to 18 February 2014 at Taipei International Convention Center, Taiwan.
Co-organized by the Taiwanese Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture and the Taiwan Precious Coral Association and supported by the Taiwan Jewellery Industry Association, the forum addressed to the biology of precious coral and the sustainable use of resources through academic research, management methods and fishery techniques.
“We, the jewellery industry, have experience of joining hands with civil society to show that the precious objects we produce are a force for good, while we may create non-essential products, we are an essential industry,” the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) president Gaetano Cavalieri addressed the forum. “People need to associate coral jewellery with good environmental management. Environmentally conscious consumers should go out of their way to purchase precious coral jewellery, and certainly not avoid it,” he continued.
A precious coral working group was created within CIBJO in 2012. Cavalieri proposed that it be elevated to the status of a full CIBJO commission, which would be charged with creating a set of international accepted standards and nomenclature, within the framework of a new CIBJO Blue Book.
“The harmonization of industry standards is a key component of CIBJO’s mission. This always has been an important factor, but it has become even more so as the world economy has globalized, and international trade has become the dominant component of our business. Quite simply, what is understood in one country or market needs to be understood perfectly in others,” Cavalieri stated.
“Clear, reasonable and internationally accepted standards need to be established that will decide what treatments and enhancements must be disclosed each time a gem changes hands. Furthermore, the method of disclosure needs to be decided so that it will mean the same thing in Asia, as it means in Europe, the Americas and Africa,” he continued.
← Back