core sector communique

FIRST CERTIFIED MEMBER ANNOUNCED BY RESPONSIBLE JEWELLERY COUNCIL

LONDON ‐ The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) today announced that the French jewellery manufacturer, Gay Frères, is the first Member to be certified against the ethical, human rights, social and environmental standards as established by the RJC’s Member Certification System.
Gay Frères’ RJC Member Certification results from a successful verification assessment conducted by STR, an international audit firm which was the RJC’s first accredited auditor, as announced at the JCK Las Vegas trade fair in June.

“The RJC is delighted to congratulate Gay Frères becoming its first RJC Certified Member. This important milestone builds on five years of sustained effort by the RJC’s Members to create the independent third party RJC Member Certification System applicable from mine to retail,” says Matt Runci, RJC’s Chairman.

“RJC Certified Members have the benefit of recognition against an international certification system, supporting their own reputations and enhancing consumer confidence in the jewellery supply chain more generally. Many RJC Members have commenced the process towards Certification and we look forward to announcing their achievements over the coming months,” says Matt Runci.

Founded in 1835, Gay Frères is well known as a manufacturer and supplier of the greatest European jewellery brands, employing 300 people and producing 1000 jewellery pieces on a daily basis. With more than 170 years of history in the jewellery industry, the company relies on the most modern technologies combined with artisanal expertise.

“We are most proud to be the first RJC Member to achieve this important certification and we encourage others within the industry to follow suit so that they too can evidence responsible business practices. We are committed to improving industry standards and to supporting the RJC’s mission,” says Claude Schlappi, Gay Frères’s Director.

“STR is honoured to have completed the first‐ever RJC verification assessment and Certification recommendation for Gay Frères. Gay Frères carried out a thorough self assessment to ensure they met RJC Code of Practices. While conducting our independent verification of their self assessment, we found that Gay Frères not only met the requirements, but made it a smooth process by communicating with us transparently and ensuring their whole management team was available during the process. STR looks forward to working with other RJC Members on their path to Certification,” says Russ Childrey, Vice President STR Responsible Sourcing.

“The Union Française BJOP was delighted to learn that Gay Frères have been certified and we hope that this very important step for this company encourages other companies to do the same. We believe that it is in the best interests of all our members to ensure that they, and in turn the consumer, can have confidence in the integrity of the products that they buy and sell. BJOP strongly supports the Council and we are continuing to reinforce the RJC mission within our members,” says Bernadette Pinet‐Cuoq, Chief Executive Officer, BJOP.

The Responsible Jewellery Council is an international not‐for‐profit organisation bringing together more than 240 member companies committed to promoting responsible ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices in a transparent and accountable manner throughout the jewellery industry from mine to retail. Their commitment aims to reinforce consumer and stakeholder confidence in diamond, gold and platinum group metals jewellery products.
The Council has developed the RJC Member Certification System which will apply to all Members’ businesses that contribute to the diamond, gold and platinum group metals jewellery supply chain. All Commercial Members of the RJC are required to be audited by accredited, third party auditors to verify their conformance with the RJC’s Code of Practices and become certified under the RJC System.