The Gemmological Commission of the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has produced a special report where it explored a possibility of creating a list of gemmological laboratories that have committed to applying the standards, principles and nomenclature listed in the CIBJO Blue Books.
“There have in recent years been concerns expressed about gemstone reports issued by different labs for the same stones, with different and sometime contradictory findings,” head of the Commission Hanco Zwaan said.
“This has brought into question the qualifications of the laboratories issuing the reports, taking into consideration that, worldwide, there is very little official oversight as to what are the requirements for an organisation to claim to be a gem testing laboratory.”
A key document that would have to be applied by listed labs would be the CIBJO Gemmological Laboratories Blue Book. Also relevant are CIBJO’s Blue Books for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls and precious coral.
According to CIBJO, the benefit of such a system is that laboratories with quality management systems in place can be identified by the trade and consumers alike. The system will also encourage openness and transparency in a sphere of operations that has grown significantly in scope over recent decades.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
