Responsible Jewellery Council certifies 1st member
London—French jewelry manufacturer Gay Frères has become the first certified member of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the international not-for-profit working to promote responsible ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices in the jewelry supply chain.
Gay Frères received the designation as the first certified RJC member following a successful verification audit by STR, the international audit firm that was the RJC's first accredited auditor, as announced at the Las Vegas jewelry shows this past June. Gay Frères is a 175-year-old manufacturer and supplier of European jewelry brands, with 300 employees producing 1,000 pieces of jewelry on a daily basis.
In a news release, RJC Chairman Matt Runci said that the Gay Frères certification is a milestone that 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.
He adds that many more RJC members have begun the certification process, and the organization looks forward to announcing their completion of that process in the months ahead. The RJC has more than 240 member companies. It has developed the RJC Member Certification System to apply to all members' businesses that contribute to the diamond, gold and platinum group metals jewelry 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 official Code of Practices and become certified under the RJC System.
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