Jewelers of America welcomed the launch of the Responsible Jewellery Council‘s Certification Scheme, an important milestone for the Council.

A co-founder of RJC in 2005, JA has taken a leadership position in advocating high ethical, social and environmental standards in the jewelry trade and among its members. The association recently developed an updated Code of Professional Practices that is closely aligned with the RJC’s ethical, social and environmental principles. 

RJC’s system will use independent, third-party auditors to verify members’ conformance with the RJC’s Code of Practices. The system was developed over an intensive, three-year period and involved wide-ranging and transparent consultation with the industry and its stakeholders. RJC recently completed its Mining Supplement standards, developed over an 18-month period that involved three public comment periods, with published reports that logged the nearly 400 comments received and the RJC’s responses.

JCK