CIBJO Reelects Gaetano Cavalieri as President, Backs ‘Synthetic’ Diamond Term

By Karen Dybis | September 09, 2026

The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) has reelected Gaetano Cavalieri as its president in a wide-ranging Centenary Congress that covered what seems to be only the start of the conversation as to whether synthetic will be the new term for man-made diamonds.

Cavalieri was unopposed as president, a role the Italian has held since 2001. CIBJO’s general assembly also reelected three vice presidents: Jonathan Kendall, Kenneth Scarratt, and Pramod Agrawal. It reelected Marc-Alain Christen as treasurer and chief financial officer.

CIBJO, which ran Sept. 4–7 in Vicenza, Italy, alongside the VicenzaOro show, ended with its board of directors approving a recommendation by its Diamond Commission and Coloured Stone Commission that the Blue Books be revised so that the word synthetic “be the sole descriptor used to accurately and scientifically define a created product with the same chemical composition, physical properties, and structure as that of its naturally occurring counterpart.”

Said CIBJO in a statement: “The CIBJO board of directors acknowledged that laboratory-grown and laboratory-created are consumer marketing terms accepted in certain jurisdictions, and recognized that national law or regulations take precedence in the jurisdictions where they are relevant. However, CIBJO recommends that, when communicating to an international audience, synthetic be used as the most unambiguous term of description.”

*Longtime CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri*

The Natural Diamond Council in a LinkedIn post said it “welcomed” CIBJO’s recommendation to use synthetic as the sole descriptor for man-made diamonds.

“Consumers deserve clarity,” the post said. “Consumers should not have to navigate complex or inconsistent terminology to understand what they are buying.… We see this as an important step toward greater transparency and consistency across the industry, helping to strengthen consumer understanding, support informed choice, and build confidence in the marketplace.”

Multiple countries and industry organizations from Russia to France to CIBJO now recommend synthetic as the primary term for man-made diamonds. The latest addition is the London Diamond Bourse, which said on Sept. 2 it adopted synthetic as “best practice” for all members.

“Existing U.K. guidance permits three, synthetic, laboratory-grown, and laboratory-created, and treats them as equally acceptable. The Bourse’s position is that of the three, synthetic is the most technically accurate, historically established, and internationally understood,” the London Diamond Bourse said in a statement.

Newly elected London Diamond Bourse president Charlotte Rose noted that consumer understanding is driving this change.

“Consumers should never be left in any doubt about whether the diamond they are purchasing is a natural diamond or a man-made product. Clear and unambiguous terminology allows consumers to make a genuinely informed choice, while protecting confidence in the wider diamond and jewelry sector,” Rose said in a statement.

Consumer awareness is the most important part, World Federation of Diamond Bourses president Mehul Shah said in a Rapaport news story released Wednesday. Shah said individual governments in local languages should determine which term they will use for the product.

“Every region or country has its own language under which various terminologies are used,” Shah said. “We are not above any governments, as only respective governments can enforce rules. I urge all trade bodies to come together and appeal to governments in the interest of consumers to prescribe declarations in local language related to terminologies concerning lab-grown or synthetic diamonds that can be globally implemented.”

As of Wednesday, CIBJO has not yet determined where its 2027 congress will be held, although several countries have stepped up to host, Cavalieri said.

(Photos courtesy of CIBJO)