CIBJO Congress Opens with Focus on Creativity and Development

(IDEX Online News) – A series of meetings, presentations and social events marked the opening of the 2012 CIBJO Congress on Thursday. The topics ranged from the definition of pearls to research findings about the jewelry retail sector.

Some 143 delegates from around the world are participating in the four-day congress in Vicenza, north Italy's historic jewelry center.

Commission steering committees have been putting the final touches to proposals for changes in the Diamond, Colored Stone, Pearl, Precious Metals and Gemology Blue Books, which will be presented during the congress.

"We are a community of individuals that take the most precious of natural resources, and then elevate their net worth by injecting our imagination and creative skills," said CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri about the jewelry industry during his address at the opening ceremony.

Quoting the Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola, Cavalieri said creative capabilities allow us to rise toward the level of angels. "It is a privilege that sets us apart, he said, for only human beings have the ability change themselves through their own free will."

Fulvio Peppucci of Bain & Co. discussed trends and developments in the fine and custom jewelry market.