The agreement was confirmed on 25 June in the UK as a memorandum of understanding, signed by CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri and IGDA president Joanna Park-Tonks.
As part of the agreement, the IGDA will become a member of CIBJO’s Laboratory Grown Diamond Committee. The purpose of the committee is to define lab-created diamond trading practices in order to elevate consumer education and confidence.
“Over the past several years the lab-created diamonds sector has grown into a large and prominent part of our industry, and we all have a vested interest in each other’s success,” Cavalieri said.
“That definitely will be enhanced by having the IGDA as a permanent part of the discussion and the decision-making process.”
The immediate focus of the committee will be addressing the need for ‘honest and accurate’ marketing around sustainability issues – an area that Park-Tonks said requires cross-industry collaboration.
“This sends a clear signal to the global jewellery industry to set personal agendas and egos aside, placing the consumer and their best interests at the heart of our work,” she said.
“We all agree that a strategy of deriding natural diamonds or lab-created diamond products is not conducive to consumers’ understanding of either sector. Together we are stronger and we jointly acknowledge the necessity of communicating clearly, honestly, and transparently.”
Park-Tonks was appointed the president of the IGDA in January and during her brief tenure has emphasised the need for open communication between the lab-created and natural diamond industries.
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