Milan: With four weeks to go to the opening of the 2016 CIBJO Congress in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 26, 2016, the sixth of the CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Gemmological Commission, headed by Hanco Zwaan, the report considers the need for clearer coloured gemstone laboratory standards, both in the way results are obtained and how they are noted on gem identification reports.

Specifically, the report discusses lead glass-filled rubies, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States has ruled cannot be marketed as unqualified rubies without being deceptive. It also looks at the measures laboratories should take to deal with a trend by which dealers temporarily remove filler from fissures and fractures in emeralds before submitting them for examination, so as to have “no indications of clarity enhancement” listed on gem identification reports.

Measures to reduce inconsistencies in gemmological coloured gemstone reports issued by different gem labs will be discussed during meetings of the Gemmological Commission at the CIBJO Congress in Armenia on October 27, and also during a special session on October 26, which will focus on harmonising and standardising specific colour terms, such as Royal Blue and Pigeon Blood Red.

“Recognizing that if certain colour terms are assigned and used, it is essential to find for them common ground and consistent criteria,” writes Mr. Zwaan in the Gemmological Commission Report.