(IDEX Online) - The second of the CIBJO commissions' Special Reports has been released ahead of the 2018 CIBJO Congress in Bogot??, Colombia, in mid-October.
Prepared by the CIBJO Precious Metals Commission, headed by Huw Daniel, the report examines the influence on the sector by outside forces, be they political, regulatory or the result of decisions by the International Standards Organisation.
"Unlike diamonds and other gemstones, where prices are almost exclusively a function of supply and demand in the jewelry markets, precious metals are also safe haven assets, and as such are subject to forces that simultaneously are driven by both psychology and economics," he wrote in the report.
The special report specifically looks at the difficulties encountered in predicting the trajectory of precious metals prices because they tend to be influenced by outside political events, and also outlines changes affecting the sector that appear in the recently released Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The report recounts a successful effort undertaken by CIBJO, the Platinum Guild International and other industry bodies to reverse a 2014 decision by the International Standards Organisation.
"The process underlined the very valuable role that CIBJO can take as an official observer at ISO, working in concert with leading industry associations. Its position is greatly enhanced because it is seen as being non-partisan, with its primary goal being to defend the interests of consumers."