Piat promotes the French gem lapidary know-how throughout the world and is quite involved in the ethical dimensions of the profession.
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Piat promotes the French gem lapidary know-how throughout the world and is quite involved in the ethical dimensions of the profession.
The company has a strong commitment to share knowledge and best practices in the business.
In 1961, at a time when there was no recognized diploma in gemmology, Daniel Piat founded the French Association of Gemmology (AFG: Association Française de Gemmologie). The idea was to spread knowledge about coloured stones, share best practices, as well as collect and communicate information about gemmology.
Emmanuel Piat took over his father’s mission by becoming a board member of the AFG in 1995.
In 2004, he became a member of the Board of Directors of ICA – the International Coloured Stones Association – which regulates the trade of coloured stones thanks to a collective access to all levels of the coloured gemstone industry.
He was Vice-President of the Colored Stone Commission of the World Jewelry Confederation (CIBJO) for four years. The CIBJO is famous for publishing the “blue books”, which are definitive sets of grading standards and nomenclature for diamonds, coloured gemstones, pearls, coral, precious metals, and gemmological laboratories. These books help professionals to maintain consumer confidence and are updated regularly. They give a general description of each colored stone, define the legal terms to describe them and their treatments but also which treatments are authorized, to what extent etc.
