The CIBJO Centenary Congress 2026, held in Vicenza, Italy, opened with a strong focus on strengthening standards, advancing sustainability and rebuilding consumer confidence across the global jewellery industry.
Marking CIBJO’s 100th anniversary, President Gaetano Cavalieri reflected on the organisation’s evolution from a European association established in 1926 into a global body representing the interests of the jewellery, gemstone and precious metals sectors.
A key discussion centred on the recovery of demand for natural diamonds. Gareth Penny, chairman of Ninety One and former senior executive of De Beers, called for consistent and emotive marketing campaigns to reconnect consumers with natural diamonds.
Martin Rapaport, head of the Rapaport Group, similarly urged the industry to strengthen luxury demand among wealthy and high-value aspirational consumers. He argued that natural diamonds need to be positioned around their emotional and luxury value, particularly following what he described as retail misrepresentation surrounding synthetics.
Education emerged as another major theme, with CIBJO announcing plans for an International Fine Jewellery Academy in Milan. The initiative is intended to support education in craftsmanship, research and development, standards, sustainability and emerging technologies.
The academy is positioned as a platform to help strengthen technical expertise while preparing the industry for evolving production practices and technologies.
Compliance also featured prominently during a session organised with the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI). Dave Siminski of United Precious Metal Refining highlighted the importance of extensive documentation and robust know-your-customer procedures when onboarding customers.
The discussion underscored the industry's need to understand who it is doing business with and to strengthen compliance practices across precious metals operations.
CIBJO also unveiled a revised Responsible Sourcing Toolkit, designed to provide basic resources for companies seeking to implement responsible sourcing practices across their supply chains.
The toolkit is available at no cost and forms part of CIBJO’s broader efforts to promote responsible business practices and sustainability within the jewellery and gemstone sectors.
The Congress, therefore, set a broad agenda for the industry’s next phase — combining consumer confidence, natural diamond marketing, education, compliance and responsible sourcing with CIBJO’s centenary milestone.
