Tiffany chairman testifies on coral preservation

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Tiffany chairman testifies on coral preservation

Deems coral 'too precious to wear'

September 17, 2008

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New York—Tiffany and Co. Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski testified before Congress on Tuesday in hopes that the government will shed more light on threats to our coral reef systems, so that consumers will demand, and retail jewelers will support, a stop to the coral trade.

In his testimony before the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, Kowalski said that for the past eight years, The Tiffany and Co. Foundation has supported research on coral reef systems, and since 2003, has prohibited coral jewelry sales in its stores.

But while Tiffany remains committed to the cause, "most retail jewelers, and certainly most consumers, are still sadly unaware of the global destruction of coral, and their complicity in that destruction," Kowalski said.

Kowalski did say, however, that there is "enormous concern among consumers about the impact their consumption decisions have upon the environment," and that when given the opportunity to make a responsible choice, he's confident most consumers will do so.

Kowalski added that more information is desperately needed to inform retailers and consumers about the destructive coral trade, and called on Congress to do "much more to better define the threats to our marine ecosystems, and coral in particular."

Specifically, Tiffany is hopeful that Red Coral (Corallium) will be listed under CITES Appendix II, which lists species that are not currently threatened with extinction but that might become so unless trade is closely controlled.

In conclusion, Kowalski said that as a jeweler, he feels that perhaps the greatest tragedy here is the insignificance of coral for the jewelry industry as a whole. And unlike gemstones, pearls, or precious metals, which are vitally important to the industry but can be produced responsibly, there is no such possibility for coral jewelry.

"To destroy our coral resources for something as insignificant as coral jewelry defies both scientific and economic logic, and simple common sense. Some things are indeed too precious to wear," Kowalski said.

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