core sector communique

Ahead of start of World Jewellery Forum in Vicenza on May 13,

dedicated website launched by participating organisations

Vicenza, Italy - May 8, 2012 - With the 11-day World Jewellery Forum scheduled to commence in Vicenza, Italy, this coming Sunday, a dedicated website has been launched to provide assistance to participants and members of the media, who will be attending and covering the various events of which it is comprised. These include the 8th Annual Meeting of the World Diamond Council, the UNITAR (Antwerp ITCCO) Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Seminar, the 2012 CIBJO Congress, and the VicenzaOro Spring jewellery show.

The website is located at www.worldjewelleryforum.com. It provides direct links to the websites of the WDC Annual Meeting, the CIBJO Congress and VicenzaOro Spring show; links to the registration modules of the World Diamond Council Annual Meeting and the CIBJO Congress; links to the hotels offering special rates to participants in the spa town of Abano Terme; travel assistance and a dedicated press section.

The World Jewellery Forum is being organised by the Fiera di Vicenza, and the various events will take place in its central exhibition pavilions and in Pavilion L, which will be the venue for the WDC Annual Meeting, the UNITAR (Antwerp-ITCCO) Seminar and the CIBJO Congress.

The first event in the World Jewellery Forum is the 8th Annual Meeting of the World Diamond Council, which is the body that coordinates the diamond and jewellery industry's campaign to eliminate conflict diamonds in the marketplace. With closed meetings starting on May 13, the WDC's General Assembly will gather for the Plenary Meeting on May 14.

On May 15, the UNITAR (Antwerp-ITCCO) CSR and Sustainability Seminar will be held. Antwerp ITTCO was established in 2011 by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), at the initiative of CIBJO, to organise CSR training programmes for the international gem and jewellery sectors.

The 2012 CIBJO Congress will take place from May 17 to 20, bringing together national jewellery associations and industry leaders from around the world. CIBJO Congresses serves as the official gathering place for the Assembly of Delegates of the World Jewellery Confederation, and are the venue for meetings of its sectorial commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation's directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs and precious metals, known as the Blue Books.

The World Jewellery Forum will conclude with the VicenzaOro Spring show, which attracts tens of thousands of jewellery industry professionals to the Italian jewellery centre. On Saturday, May 19, CIBJO and the Fiera di Vicenza will offer a Gemmological Conference, where the focus will be on the gemstone tourmaline.