News Watch federations joins CIBJO CIBJO, the <strong>World</strong> <strong>Jewellery</strong> Confederation, has confirmed the membership of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH. CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri welcomed the decision, stating that it underscores the convergent interests of the watch, jewellery and gemstones industries, and the need for all to work together to protect consumer confidence and support. Free gem courses online The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF has launched a series of free-of-charge, online courses, entitled “Understanding Gemstones.” With each covering a specific gem, the courses are comprehensive and self-paced by the student, who is able to start and complete them at any time via SSEF’s Internet-based learning platform. The courses are available in English, French and simplified Chinese. The gems currently covered are diamonds, emeralds, pearls, rubies and sapphires. SSEF plans on adding more gems and languages to the selection of courses in the future. Each course provides students with an introduction to the selected gem, its history, properties, information about how it is formed, the locations from which it is sourced, treatments that it may be subject to, and, when relevant, its synthetic counterparts. At the end of each course, students are presented with a quiz, and if they pass are awarded a certificate of completion for that unit. This new online offering builds on SSEF’s in-person courses, which began more than two decades ago and range from introductory practical gemmology all the way to scientific gemmology. As a non-profit Swiss foundation, SSEF’s mission is to carry out gem research and provide gem education. “We have had the privilege of testing many of the world's most famous and exceptional gemstones, and as a consequence have amassed a vast quantity of knowledge that we would like to make available to the industry and jewellery buying public,” said Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki, Director of SSEF. “Recent advances in online learning and technology enables us to launch these online courses, to share our knowledge and passion about gemstones, to a wide international audience at no cost to students.” Representing around 460 members or more than 90 percent of Swiss firms active in the production and sale of watches, clocks and components, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH was established in 1982 following the merger between the Swiss Federation of Watch Manufacturers’ Associations and the Swiss Chamber of Watchmaking. It thus represents almost 150 years of association activity within the Swiss watch industry. Among the organisation’s objectives are to protect and develop the Swiss watch industry, to uphold its members’ interests generally and in a legal context, and to represent the sector as a whole, both in Switzerland and abroad. “We are delighted to have so important a leader in the international watch sector as part of CIBJO,” Dr. Cavalieri said. “Together the jewellery, gemstone and watch industries represent more than $250 billion of sales annually, reaching out to a very similar consumer base, often using the same chains of distribution, particularly at the retail end. We have parallel interests and face common threats. For all of us, consumer confidence is not simply desirable, but it is a business prerequisite. I look forward to working with my Swiss colleagues in creating a common front, allowing us work united and strengthened in the international markets.” www.ssef.ch/masterclass 10 jewellery world - <strong>May</strong> <strong>2021</strong>
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