Groups Join Forces on Responsible Sourcing

RAPAPORT… The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the Coloured
Gemstones Working Group (CGWG) will collaborate to help companies in the
industry implement responsible sourcing for gemstones such as rubies, emeralds
and sapphires.

The groups will develop management tools and resources that
colored-gemstone businesses can download free of charge, to support them in conducting
due diligence of their supply chains.

“What we are accomplishing through this agreement goes
beyond making declarative statements about the need to practice responsible
sourcing,” CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri said Tuesday. “it also provides members of our industry, and especially the many
small and medium-sized companies of which we are predominantly comprised,
practical means of getting the job done.”

The CGWG is an alliance of companies that helps the gemstone industry achieve sustainability, and is facilitated by The Dragonfly Initiative (TDI), an advisory firm. The alliance comprises Tiffany
& Co., Swarovski, Richemont, Muzo Companies, LVMH, Kering, and Gemfields.

CIBJO and CGWG signed a memorandum of understanding at the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Responsible Minerals Forum, which
took place in Paris in April.

Image: Assheton Stewart Carter, CEO of TDI (left), and Gaetano Cavalieri signing the MoU. (World Jewellery Confederation)