TUSCON: The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), and the International Colored Stone Association (ICA), have reached consensus on a global method of coloured gemstone treatment disclosure within the trade. This cooperation follows a growing need of the global coloured gemstone industry to harmonise codes used on jewellery tags and commercial documents to indicate treatments or modifications that the gemstone may have undergone. At the CIBJO Congress 2007 in Capetown, South Africa, the Coloured Stone Steering Committee had submitted a proposal to integrate a system of treatment modification codes on commercial documents and jewellery tags. The original coding system was developed by AGTA over 26 years back, and an amended set of codes was approved last year at the CIBJO Congress in Istanbul. Although AGTA and ICA have used codes to disclose treatments for decades, the systems of codes were not directly compatible. With the impetus given by ICA Vice-President Charles Abouchar, a task force was formed comprising representatives from AGTA, CIBJO and ICA, with the aim to reach consensus on a global system of coding. The codes will now be listed in CIBJO's Gemstone Blue Book for each stone.