Asian Groups Seek to Standardize Region's Trade

RAPAPORT... Four of Asia's industry groups have agreed to work together on standardizing language and rules for the diamond trade. The National Gemstone Testing Center (NGTC), the Gem andJewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), the Gemmological Institute of India (GII),and the China Gems & Jade Exchange (CGE) signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) to further that effort, the NGTC said. The signing took place at the Global Jewellery Industry andStandardization Forum during last week's Hong Kong International Jewellery Show. The groups launched the Asia-Pacific Gems & JewelleryStandardization Technology Alliance (AGA), which will address issues facing theinternational jewelry trade, unified rules and prospects for internationalstandardization in the Asia-Pacific region. "Standards are the common language and rules in social andeconomic activities, and it promotes the interconnection of the world,accelerates innovation and development, and leads the progress of the times,"said Liang Zhenjie, deputy director of the NGTC. Standardizing the gem and jewelry trade will expand businessglobally and reinforce cultural exchange and integration, Zhenjie noted. "Strict adherence to agreed-to grading standards,nomenclature and methods of testing are prerequisites for the development ofthe gemstone and jewelry industries in China," Gaetano Cavalieri, president ofthe World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), said at the event. The successful implementation of standardization procedureswill affect the Chinese jewelry industry's success outside of the country,Cavalieri added. Image: Signing of the MoU on industry standardization. (NGTC)