Martin Coeroli, who was elected as president of CIBJO’s Pearl Commission at the 2005 CIBJO Congress in Hong Kong in March, has urged the members of his trade to join discussions on the industry standards promoted by the world jewellery confederation. Coeroli the managing director of Perles de Tahiti, succeeded Elfriede Schwarzer of Austria, who retired after serving on the CIBJO Pearl Commission for almost 25 years.

“I thank CIBJO for entrusting me with this task,” said Coeroli. “I hope to be able to bring more market players into the discussion on nomenclature, especially because I am convinced that a single set of nomenclature rules will be beneficial to the industry, as they will enhance and strengthen consumer confidence in pearls at large.”

Coeroli was provided support by his predecessor as Pearl Commission president. “One of the chief tasks that I pursued during my tenure was not only to establish proper nomenclature for pearls but also to find ways to enforce them,” Schwarzer said. “While we have been relatively successful in our fight against imitation pearls being called ‘pearls,’ we still need to go a long way in convincing producers of cultured pearls to name their products for what they are. Martin is in an excellent position to bring them in line with the reasonable standards formulated within CIBJO.”

Coeroli has been with Perles de Tahiti since 1994. Prior to his current position, he was vice manager of Aquaculture and Marine Activities in French Polynesia. From 1979 through 1984 he served as the head of the Pearl Department of the Fisheries Office in French Polynesia. In his current position, he is credited establishing the Tahitian pearl as a world-wide brand. He also is the author of many books and articles on the Tahitian pearl. A marine biologist by training, he holds a master’s graduate in Oceanography from Aix Marseille University.

JCK