(PRESS RELEASE) VICENZA, ITALY – CIBJO, the World Jewelry Confederation, and the Federation for European Education (FEEG) in Gemology, presented a day-long conference at the Vicenzaoro January jewelry trade show, organized by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), in Vicenza on Saturday, January 19, where the principle focus were on issues related to responsible sourcing and gemology.
For CIBJO, the event is the latest in a series of seminars and workshops presented at Vicenzaoro shows, in cooperation with IEG, focusing on issues relating to responsible business practices and sustainability in the jewelry sector. For FEEG, the conference served as its annual 21st symposium, bringing together leading gemological experts from across the continent and around the world. It was hosted in Vicenza by the Italian Gemological Institute (IGI).
Beginning at 10:00 a.m. in Hall 7.1 –Tiziano room of the Vicenza Expo Center, the morning session of the conference focused first on responsible sourcing practices, and featured a presentation of CIBJO’s newly approved responsible sourcing book, which provides a framework and guidance for due diligence related to the responsible sourcing of gemstones and precious metals in the jewelry sector. Also in the spotlight during the morning session was precious coral, both from the gemological perspective and from the perspective of sustainability, as will be blockchain technology, which will be looked at generally and more specifically from the standpoint of the precious coral sector. The session was moderated by Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO.
The afternoon session of the conference began at 2:00 p.m. in the same venue, and look at a variety of topics, including marketing and strategies in the colored gemstones sector, the legacy and gemology of natural pearls, new laboratory technologies, the classification and identification of jade, and the gemology and geology of diamonds. It was moderated by Paolo Valentini, IGI vice president.
The proceedings concluded with the annual FEEG diploma award ceremony, which started at 4:30 p.m. The day’s events was conducted in English and Italian, with simultaneous translation into both languages available at all times.