CIBJO President: We Must Improve our Knowledge to Improve Sales

During his first visit to Israel, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri called upon members of the diamond, jewelry and colored gemstone industry to invest in knowledge in order to better serve consumers.

Cavalieri says the mission of CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, is “protecting the confidence of consumers in the gemstones and jewelry we sell. This is not meant to sound overly idealistic, because by defending the integrity of our industry and its products, and in so doing protecting consumer confidence, we are ensuring the long-term existence of our business”.

CIBJO does this, he says, on several fronts at the same time. By being active members in the fight against conflict diamonds - Cavalieri is an executive member of the WDC representing the jewelry industry's interest in the Kimberley Process - and also using CIBJO forums to consider means of preventing the use of gemstones, precious metals and jewelry for the purposes of money laundering.

Calling the Confederation the United Nations of the gemstone and jewelry business, Cavalieri emphasizes its central role. “It is very important! Because we deal in luxury goods, our members have become favored targets for a number of activist groups, many of which are members of the anti-globalization movement that sprung up at the end of the 1990s.

“We cannot afford any damage to the reputation and integrity of the products we sell, because then consumers may spend their disposable income elsewhere. The fact that the economies of countries like Namibia, Botswana and Angola may be devastated, and those like Israel, India, Belgium and Italy may be badly hurt does not always concern these various activist groups. The greater gemstone and jewelry industry, and organizations like CIBJO, must be on the lookout and maintain strict stands of operation.”

He proposes doing this by expanding knowledge. “I had to get a PhD to understand economics and just anyone can open a jewelry store?” He added that experience is not enough.

The commitment to improve is on the jeweler. The jeweler needs to read on gold, technology, marketing, etc, to increase the volume of sales.

Regarding his visit to Israel, Cavalieri thanked his hosts for their very generous hospitality, promising it will be the first of many.

“I am pleased to be able to report that the industry in Israel shares our concerns and is actively working with us to achieve our common goals. At the beginning of last year, Israel was the first country to report full implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.”

“It was certainly something to be proud of and demonstrates your industry's commitment to a transparent and ethically accountable business sector,” he concluded.