The World Federation of Diamond Bourses and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association have joined CIBJO, The World Jewellery Confederation, in withdrawing from the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices because of the organization’s “planned structure and system of operation.” A week earlier, CIBJO sent a letter to CRJP saying it was withdrawing its membership because of the group’s organizing structure.

The three organizations sent a joint statement to CRJP, which was released to the public.

“We the undersigned,” the letter stated, “would like to express our reservations about the planned structure and system of operation of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices.

“Following CIBJO’s withdrawal from CRJP, WFDB and IDMA will be declining the council’s invitation to join CRJP at this time.”

The letter, signed by Jeffrey H. Fischer, IDMA president, Shmuel Schnitzer, WFDB president, and Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO president, continued:

“Our organizations, which together represent the overwhelming majority of companies and individuals involved in the diamond and jewelry industry, are committed to the wellbeing of our member organizations, and, consequently, the thousands of individual jewellers and diamantaires that make up their respective memberships. We are also committed, of course, to the principles of social and ethical responsibility and transparency in the jewellery industry, and we actively promote them. We will continue to become involved in projects that we believe will defend these values and at the same time serve the interests of all the legitimate stakeholders in our industry. But we do not believe that CRJP, with its currently proposed structure and with its system of operation, will serve the interests of most of the industry.

“Regrettably, as a result of the council’s exclusionary activities to date, many members of the industry are concerned that commercial agendas, which run contrary to the interests of an overwhelming portion of the trade, have become entwined with the good intentions of CRJP. CRJP has taken a direction which aligns it exclusively with large corporate entities, with their sizeable infrastructures and budgets, without taking into consideration the needs of the medium and smaller independent firms that comprise the majority of participants in our industry.

“Above all, we are committed to defend and protect the interests of our memberships and oversee the preservation of this vital segment of the industry.”

JCK