RJC Extends Reach to Silver Jewelry

RAPAPORT… The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) will expand its
certification to the silver trade, the standards organizations said last week.

Until now, the London-based group has focused on diamonds,
gemstones, gold and platinum-group metals, addressing issues in the supply
chains of those materials. Extending its reach to silver will help the RJC
widen its authority and reputation in the industry, it explained.

“It is a natural progression for the RJC to include the
silver sector, furthering our goal to become a fully integrated jewelry
supply-chain initiative,” said executive director Andrew Bone. “The expansion
allows us to use the expertise we have gathered through our longstanding work
across other precious-metal supply chains, and will help us better support a
sustainable and ethical silver industry.”

The RJC will publish information related to the silver
supply chain in its “Code of Practices,” which defines responsible ethical,
human-rights, social and environmental standards. It expects to have finished integrating
practices for the silver industry into the code by the end of 2018.

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