Privacy policy

With this Privacy Policy we, the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF (hereinafter ‘SSEF’ or ‘we’), describe how we collect and further process personal data of clients, associated persons, participants in courses and events, job applicants, users of the SSEF website (hereinafter ‘site’) and recipients of newsletters or, in each case, their contact persons and employees (hereinafter also ‘you’ or ‘our Clients’). By reference in section X of the General Conditions of Gemstone Analysis by SSEF, this Privacy Policy also applies to contractual partners, i.e., those who are not only visitors of the site. This privacy policy applies to the site and all products and services offered by the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF and its subsidiaries (SSEF Instruments AG).

This Privacy Policy is not necessarily a comprehensive description of our data processing. It is possible that other data protection statements or General Terms and Conditions are applicable to specific circumstances.

This Privacy Policy is aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the Swiss Data Protection Act. However, the application of these laws depends on each individual case.

For what purpose and on what basis we process your data

We primarily use collected data for the conclusion, administration and performance of contractual relationships with our clients and business partners, in particular in connection with our engagement for scientific research in the field of gemstones. We furthermore process your data for purposes related to communication with you as well as in order to comply with our domestic and foreign legal obligations.

In addition, in line with applicable law and where appropriate, SSEF may collect and process your personal data for the following purposes, which are in our legitimate interest, such as:

  • To improve customer service
    Information you provide helps us respond to your customer service requests and support needs more efficiently in a secure manner.
  • To personalise user experience
    We may use information in the aggregate to understand how our Clients as a group use the services and resources provided on our site.
  • To send periodic emails
    We may use the email address to send our Clients information and updates pertaining to their order. It may also be used to respond to their inquiries, questions, and/or other requests. If you decide to opt-in to our mailing list, you will receive emails that may include SSEF news, updates, related product or service information, etc. If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email or you may contact us via our site.

If you have given us your consent to process your personal data for certain purposes (for ex-ample when registering to receive newsletters), we will process your personal data within the scope of and based on this consent, unless we have another legal basis, provided that we require one. Consent given can be withdrawn at any time, but this does not affect data processed prior to withdrawal.

Personal identification information

We may collect personal identification information from you in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when you visit our site, subscribe to the newsletter, and in connection with other activities, services, features or resources site. When you are in contact with us via the contact form, by e-mail, telephone or by letter or other means of communication, we collect the data exchanged between you and us. Data is furthermore collected in relation to the conclusion or performance of a contract, for example information about the contracts and the services provided or to be provided.

We primarily process personal data which is provided to us by you. You are not obliged or required to disclose data to us except in certain cases, for example within the framework of binding legal obligations. When using our site, the processing of technical data cannot be avoided. You may, however, visit our site anonymously. You may be asked for, as appropriate, your email address.

Non-personal identification information

We may collect non-personal identification information about you, particularly whenever you interact with our site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about your means of connection to our site, such as the operating system and the internet service providers utilized and other similar information. For site optimization and statistic purposes we collect tracking data, which give information about our website users. Such tracking data, that we collect via Google Analytics, don’t permit a conclusion on individual users.

Web browser cookies

Our site may use ‘cookies’ to enhance the user experience. User’s web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. You may choose to set your web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you do so, note that some parts of the site may not function properly.

How we protect your information

We adopt appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access or unlawful processing, and to mitigate the risk of loss, accidental alteration, disclosure or destruction.  site.

Retention periods for your personal data

We process and retain your personal data as long as required for the performance of our con-tractual obligation and compliance with legal obligations or other purposes pursued with the processing, as well as beyond this duration in accordance with legal retention and documentation obligations. Personal data may be retained for the period during which claims can be asserted against SSEF or insofar as we are otherwise legally obliged to do so or if legitimate interests require further retention. As soon as your personal data are no longer required for the above-mentioned purposes, they will be deleted or anonymized, to the extent possible.

Third party websites

You may find content on our site that link to the sites and services of our partners and other third parties. We do not control the content or links that appear on these sites and are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from our site. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies. Browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link to our site, is subject to that website’s own terms and policies.

Sharing your data and transfer of data abroad

In the context of our activities and in line with the purposes of the data processing, we may transfer data to third parties, insofar as such a transfer is permitted and we deem it appropriate, in order for them to process data for us or, as the case may be, their own purposes (for example service providers, e.g. IT providers or consulting companies). We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal identification information to others for marketing purposes.

Certain Recipients may be within Switzerland and Europe but they may also be located in any country worldwide. In exceptional cases your data may therefore be processed in any country in the world. As a rule, we enter into agreements with our external service providers on the use and protection of personal data and oblige them to comply with an appropriate level of data protection when processing data in a foreign country. However, contractual precautions cannot eliminate all risks (in particular government access abroad). You should be aware of these residual risks, even if the risk may be low in individual cases.

Your Rights

You have the right to access, rectification and deletion of your personal data, the right to restriction of processing or to object to our data processing and for other legitimate interests in processing in addition to the right to receive certain personal data for transfer to another controller (data portability). Please note, however, that we reserve the right to enforce statutory restrictions on our part, for example if we are obliged to retain or process certain data, have an overriding interest (insofar as we may invoke such interests) or need the data for asserting claims.

If you do not agree with the way we handle your rights or with our data protection practices, please let us know. If you are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom or in Switzerland, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection supervisory authority in your country. You can find a list of authorities in the EEA here: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en. You can reach the UK supervisory authority here: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/. You can reach the Swiss supervisory authority here: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home/the-fdpic/contact.html.

Changes to this privacy policy

SSEF has the discretion to update this privacy policy at any time. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the top of this page. We encourage you to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically and become aware of modifications.

Your acceptance of these terms

By using this site, you signify your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our site. Your continued use of the site following the posting of changes to this policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.

Controller

The ‘Schweizerische Stiftung für Edelsteinforschung’, Aeschengraben 26, 4051 Basel, is the controller for the SSEF’s processing under this Privacy Notice, unless we tell you otherwise in an individual case, for example in additional privacy notices, on a form or in a contract.

We have furthermore appointed a Data Protection Officer as an additional position, who can be notified of any data protection-related concerns using the following contact details: dpo@ssef.ch.

V2, 11/2024