"We are being out-advertised ten to one. The only way around it is to do the same ... If we don't dig deeper, we really won't have an industry," he said.
The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, which organised the two-day meet, announced a commitment of up to one million dollars towards global jewellery marketing, "subject to the involvement of resources and leadership of marketing bodies, miners, bankers and other beneficiaries from the industry."
"I'll co-ordinate with the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group and CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) to put a working group in place and look at the practicalities" of creating a world-wide jewellery marketing body, Paul Walker, chief executive officer of Gold Field Mineral Services Ltd, told AFP.
The budget of such a body and its participants would have to be determined before it can be sold to the industry as a whole, he said.
Rising competition is posing a problem for jewellery as a whole, said Walker. "But can you push jewellery against other products? It will be a fascinating test for the industry to get behind it," he added.
But if nothing is done within the next year, it will never happen and "would be potentially a missed opportunity. Competition is only going to get more intensive," Walker warned.
Philip Olden, World Gold Council (WGC) managing director for marketing and jewellery, said the industry remains "very fragmented" at the retail level.