Gaetano Cavalieri of Italy was unanimously re-elected to another term as president of CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation. His election took place during the CIBJO Congress 2006, held July 24–27 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Cavalieri also serves as president of the Italian Federation of Gold, Silver and Jewellery Wholesalers (Federazione Nazionale Grossisti Orafi Gioiellieri Argentieri), based in Rome, and runs his own wholesale company, a 200-year-old firm based in Sicily. Additionally, he serves as chief financial officer of the World Diamond Council, acts as a consultant to the Italian Ministry of Industry and Commerce and to the European Economic Commission in the areas of harmonization of standards and value-added tax on gold, and has been a delegate to the World Trade Organization since 2000.

Along with Cavalieri, CIBJO elected the following officers: on the presidential council, Marc-Alain Christen (financial officer); Matthew A. Runci, Jewelers of America; Richard Peplow, Peplow Jewellers in the United Kingdom; Ernest Blom, World Federation of Diamond Bourses; James Evans Lombe, Diamond Trading Company; James Courage, Platinum Guild International; Cecilia Gardner, Jewelers Vigilance Committee; and a representative, to be announced, for ABN AMRO Bank.

Sector one president is Uri Ariel of Canada and vice president is Aaron Shum from the People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong). Sector two president is John Howie of Australia and vice president is Bernadette Pinet-Cuoq of France. Sector three president is Roland Naftule of the United States, and vice presidents are Thomas Lind of Germany and Harry Levy of the United Kingdom. On the Coloured Stone Commission, the president is Vichian Veerasaksri of Thailand, and vice president is Nilam Alawdeen of Japan.

Pearl Commission president is Martin Coeroli of France (French Polynesia), and vice president is Shigeru Akamatsu of Japan. On the Gemological Commission (dealing with gemological and grading issues) is president Héja Garcia-Guillerminet of France and vice president Jean-Pierre Chalain of Switzerland.

Diamond Commission president is Moti Besser of Israel, and vice president is Tim Dabson of the United Kingdom.

Marketing and Education president is Tawhid Abdullah of the United Arab Emirates, and vice president is Jonathan Kendall of the United Kingdom.

The Precious Metals Commission president is Gianni Cacchione of Italy, and vice president is Michael Allchin of the United Kingdom.

Ethics Commission president is Matthew Runci of the United States, assisted by James Evans Lombe of the United Kingdom and Cecilia Gardner of the United States.

During the four-day event, the assembly of delegates

• approved updates to CIBJO’s Blue Books on Diamonds, Pearls, and Colored Stones;

• accepted a resolution to dissolve the Laboratory Commission in its current form. It will now be known as the Gemmological Commission and will no longer address the business aspects of laboratories but will deal exclusively with gemological and technical aspects concerning the trade;

• agreed that CIBJO joins efforts by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association to negotiate with laboratories about grading synthetic diamonds with wording that is distinct and different from that used for diamonds mined in a natural environment;

• approved a resolution proposed by the Ethics Commission that called on CIBJO members to ensure that companies with whom they are affiliated fully implement the World Diamond Council System of Warranties, and that each CIBJO member monitor the implementation of the World Diamond Council System of Warranties and, if necessary, take disciplinary action against those members that do not comply;

• agreed that the Ethics Commission would study the issues in the colored gemstone, pearl, and precious metals sectors, with the aim of formulating strategies for dealing with these issues;

• agreed that the Sterling Silver Commission will now be called the Precious Metals Commission, and expand its focus to include gold and platinum.

The next CIBJO Congress is in March 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa.