CIBJO releases first Blue Book for coral

Milan--CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has debuted its first Blue Book on coral, defining acceptable trade and industry practices and nomenclature for coral.

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, has released its sixth Blue Book, this time addressing trade practices and names for coral.CIBJO said the new Blue Book is comprehensive as it classifies both treated and non-treated coral, as well as artificial products that imitate and/or include coral elements.

The full Coral Book, compiled by the CIBJO Coral Commission, can be downloaded from the CIBJO website here.

It marks the sixth in the Blue Book series, joining diamonds, gemstones and pearls--all three of which have been recently updated--as well as precious metals and gemological laboratories. Each is compiled and updated by relevant CIBJO Commissions, whose members include representatives of trade organizations and laboratories that are active in the industry.

The Coral Book includes terms that should be used to describe coral and disclose treatments, and those that should be used to define associated artificial products. Methods to maintain the quality of coral jewelry are listed, as are the various types of different precious coral species.

While the Blue Book gives guidelines for international trade practices surrounding coral, jewelers in the United States need to be aware of the laws here concerning this organic, and endangered, material.

The JVC’s Sara Yood told National Jeweler that coral currently is subject to regulation in the U.S.

Requirements include declaration and licensing permits from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) for importation and exportation, as well as additional declarations from U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon import. Certain coral materials are prohibited altogether. 

There’s also the United Nations’ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which is mentioned in CIBJO’s Coral Book. This is an international treaty between more than 175 nations, including the U.S., to ensure that international trade in species of wildlife and plants does not threaten their survival. There are three levels of control under it.

In the United States, CITES is implemented through the Endangered Species Act, which provides the framework for prohibiting trade in the country and prevents harvesting, import, export or sale of listed endangered or threatened species.

Coral reefs currently are one of the most endangered ecosystems on the planet today. There are two types of coral, reef and deep sea, and the Yood said that the industry generally uses deep