Responsible Jewellery Council welcomes new board and committee members

At it’s first “virtual” Annual General Meeting (AGM) held recently, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) announced appointments to its Board of Directors; as well as to some of its committees constituted for handling particular tasks. RJC Chair David A. Bouffard made the announcement regarding the new appointments at the AGM.

The event was held in partnership with leading software and audience engagement technology provider, Lumi. It was broadcasted to all RJC member companies, globally, from Chatham House in London on Tuesday 14 May 2019.

The newly appointed Board members will represent their respective forum in the jewellery supply chain, from mine to retail, the organisation stated.

The new appointees to the Board are:

• James Pounds from Dominion Diamond Corporation and Nelson Zarzosa from Minera Sotrami S.A, who will be representing the diamond, gold and/or platinum group metals producer forum
• Michael Steinmetz from Leo Schachter Diamonds LLC will represent the diamond traders, cutters and polishers forum
• Gregory Magid from Kusasa Refining Pty Ltd will represent the gold, platinum metals traders, refiners and/or hedgers forum
• Patrick Addor from Jaeger-LeCoultre will be representing the jewellery manufacturer and wholesaler forum
• Bernard Malek from Cartier will represent the jewellery retailer forum
• Rajesh Neelakanta from BV Chinai & Co. (India) Pvt. Ltd will represent the service industries forum
• Bernadette Pinet from Union Francaise de la BJOP will be representing the trade association forum

“The new Board members will join current Board members and work closely with the RJC’s Executive Committee and management team as the organisation continues to position its recently launched 2019 Code of Practices and drive continuous improvement in responsible business practices across the jewellery supply chain,” RJC noted.

The organisation added that new appointments were also made to strengthen the RJC’s Standards, Assurance, and Communications Committees “who work closely with the management team to help drive and realize its vision and mission of responsible worldwide supply chain”.

Additions to RJC’s Standards Committee include industry representation from Alrosa Group; De Beers Group; Bonas & Co; Lazare Kaplan International Inc.; Argor-Heraeus SA; Donze-Baume; Pomellato S.p.A; Cartier; Fair Trade Jewellery Company; HRD Antwerp; IGI India Pvt Ltd; Antwerp World Diamond Centre; and IDMA.

Non-industry appointments to the Standards Committee includes representation from BSR, UL; Swiss Better Gold Association; Levin Sources; Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct; the International Coloured Gemstone Association (ICA); the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI); the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC); Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM); and the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI).

Those joining the Assurance and Communications committees include representatives from: Dominion Diamond Corporation; El-Ran BVBA; Varinor SA; Corona Jewellery Company Ltd; CTF Diamond Trading Co Ltd; House of Gems Ltd; Van Cleef & Arpels; Piaget; Richline Group Inc.; Day’s Jewelers; GIA; Leo Schachter Diamonds LLC; and IWC Schaffhausen.

Speaking on the new appointments, RJC Executive Director, Iris Van der Veken said: “Partnerships with our members will achieve transformative change and play a key role in driving the SDG agenda forward. I look forward to engaging with them further in pursuit of our shared goals.”

David Bouffard, Chair of the RJC, commented: “It’s a great honor to welcome our new Board and Committee members at a very important time as the organisation continues to strengthen its position as the leading industry standards-setting and certification body. We will continue our tireless work toward the continuous improvement in the integrity of the global jewellery supply chain.”