PARIS — Players in the French fine jewelry sector have signed a new charter aimed at improving the industry’s competitiveness and boosting business in emerging markets.
“The jewelry industry must adapt to a market environment which has changed drastically in recent years,” stated the French minister of industry, energy and the digital economy Eric Besson, who was present at the signing here.
The French Jewelry Charter aims to improve collaboration and information sharing between the various players in the segment, promote the transmission of knowledge via training, improve shared intelligence and invest in ethics and sustainability.
It was signed by members of the Union Française de la Bijouterie, Joaillerie, Orfèvrerie, des Pierres et des Perles (UBJOP), which unites some 220 companies, including jewelry designers and manufacturers, stone traders, metalsmiths and retailers.
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Many of the players in the French jewelry sector are small companies, hindering their capacity to compete on the international market. As such, increased cooperation between players under the new charter is expected to boost competitiveness for all concerned.
While the sector has increased its exports in recent years — they represented 50 percent of revenues in 2010 compared with 31 percent in 2005, according to the UBJOP — it was hard hit by the global increase in gold prices and by the financial crisis, with some suppliers seeing orders drop by as much as 60 percent in 2008 and 2009.