CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri told an audience at a gemological
conference in Paris that they should be “the watchdogs … the gatekeepers of the
industry’s ethics.”

Cavalieri’s speech, titled “Beyond The Facets—Ethics, Social
Responsibility and the Business Of Gemmology,” called on the gemological
community to take a more active role in promoting consumer confidence. He
presented the speech to the jointly organized 11th Rendez Vous Gemmologiques de
Paris and Fourth European Gemmological Symposium at Luxembourg Palace in Paris
on Sept. 6.

“You all take part in some stage of the pipeline … none of you is an
observer or bystander, and therefore what happens in the industry is also your
responsibility,” he told the audience. “You have access to
information, are observing the industry, and making a living from it. You are
part—willingly or unwillingly—of the team of the industry’s defenders.”

JCK