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Milan, Italy—The first of this year’s CIBJO Commissions' Special Reports, on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the jewelry and gemstone industry, has been released in advance of the organization's upcoming Congress. Prepared by the CIBJO Marketing & Education Commission headed by Jonathan Kendall, the report looks ways in which the industry has adapted to the pandemic, and how that now will chart its course for the future. 

“We have all lived through what have certainly been some of the toughest times for humanity since World War II,” Kendall writes in his introduction to the report. “COVID has significantly impacted all of us and our ways of living. But as a society in general, and as a business community more specifically, we have learnt to adapt to the new normal. Video conferencing and non-face-to-face selling are now standardly used, leading to a massive rise in Internet sales and an ever more intense focus on social media marketing.”

The report also focuses extensively on environmental responsibility. “Already today we are witnessing the devastating impacts of increasingly unstable climates. The consequences of even more extreme temperature increases are difficult to contemplate,” Kendall writes. “The world’s rapid response to what ultimately is a lesser long-term threat – COVID 19 – is indicative what we as members of humanity can achieve when we come together. It is not too late to decarbonize and invest in a green future, but it is so important that we collectively make real changes now.”

The 2021 CIBJO Congress will take place virtually, with sessions running November 1-4 and November 15-18. CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions. During these meetings, amendments can be introduced to the Blue Books, the organization’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, colored stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral, and responsible sourcing. The CIBJO Congress is also where the World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development program, is reported upon.

To download a full copy of the CIBJO Market & Education Commission’s special report on COVID changes and sustainability, click here.

Certain Congress sessions, including the Opening Ceremony, will open to public participation. Registration for them begins October 1, 2021. Other sessions are by invitation only. For information on the Congress, visit the dedicated CIBJO Congress 20201 website at www.cibjo.org/congress2021.