The challenge of traceability is significant for all sectors of the jewellery industry, which is characterised by lengthy supply chains in which many of the participants are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but nowhere more so than with coloured gemstones. For whereas the precious metals, diamonds and even the pearl sectors are dominated by larger producers, about 80 percent of coloured gemstones are sourced from artisanal miners, mainly in developing countries.

Entitled “ GEMSTONE TRACEABILITY: Viable objective or unrealistic challenge ,” the ninth Jewellery Industry Voices webinar looked at the difficulties and also the possible solutions becoming available for members of the coloured gemstone industry in the new market environment.

The webinar featured four experts, each with a different perspective – Clement Sabbagh, President of the International Coloured Gemstone Association (ICA); Hayley Henning, Chief Commercial Officer of Greenland Ruby, a gemstone mining company that is among the few large-scale industrialised mining operations in the coloured gemstone sector; Cristina Maria Villegas, Director, Mine to Market, of Pact, an NGO active in 40 countries that works to improve the lives of impoverished and marginalised communities; and Daniel Nyfeler, Managing Director of the Gübelin Gem Lab, which has been developing technological solutions to enable traceability in the coloured gemstone trade.

The webinar was co-moderated by Edward Johnson and Steven Benson, and Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO President, welcomed the participants.