The benefits of CSR in the trade!

RJC host an event at

fireside chat on  acting on CSR

Last week RJC returned to Arizona to attend and host an event at JCK Tucson 2019. RJC's Edward Johnson, Director of Business Development and Brandee Dallow, RJC's North American representative hosted a fireside chat in the JCK Tucson ballroom with guest speakers to talk about the benefits of acting on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the jewellery industry.

The guest speakers represented the many facets of the jewellery supply chain and included Lisa Bridge from Ben Bridge, a major US independent retailer; Sara Graham, a prominent American jewellery designer; Mark Hanna from Richline Group, a large scale jewellery manufacturer; Laurie Watt from Mayer and Watt, a US coloured stone dealer and Emmanuel Piat from Maison Piat, an international coloured stone cutter and dealer.

Approximately 40 people were in attendance including several representatives from RJC members including the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), American Gem Society (AGS) and Jewelers of America (JA). RJC supporter, JCK and new Association Member, The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT) were also in attendance. Also joining the conversation were representatives from Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), the Mercury Free Mining project and a range of interested dealers, manufacturers and retailers.

Brandee opened the discussion by asking what the speakers defined as 'being responsible'. They all agreed that focusing on people, their staff, customers and other stakeholders were crucial to their continued success.

Lisa Bridge from Ben Bridge highlighted that it enabled her company to improve staff retention and gave the example of making sure all of the company’s responsibilities over fire safety were taken seriously and were legally compliant.

She also stressed the importance of customer service, citing a guiding quote from her great uncle, Herb Bridge, the founder of the 5th generation family business, “Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on earth.”

Mark Hanna explained that his company, Richline Group, goes through several third party audits each year and that the RJC standard is one of the most important. He also talked about the importance of continuous improvement and stressed the need to do good and give back to the people and communities in which they operate.

Jewellery designer, Sara Graham stressed the importance of selecting trustworthy, reliable suppliers and business partners down the supply chain and noted that she immediately felt more confident dealing with a new manufacturing supplier in India when she discovered they are a RJC certified member.

Laurie Watt from Mayer and Watt expressed strong views about the responsibilities of coloured stone dealers in the mid-stream of the jewellery supply chain. She had actually left her booth at AGTA Tucson Gemfair whilst in the middle of negotiations over the sale of an important cobalt blue spinel from Vietnam in order to join the discussion. She said that prior to this panel, she was somewhat of a cynic of formal standards like that of RJC, however, as she learned more and more in preparation for the event, she became not only a believer but a supporter.

Brandee pointed out that anyone who wants to get started with adopting responsible business practices, but do not know where to start, have access to all of RJC's standards on its website. In response, Emmanuel Piat from Maison Piat was keen to stress the importance of third-party verification of those management systems as the ultimate tool that RJC provides.

Edward Johnson, RJC’s Business Development Director ended the session by thanking the speakers and Brandee and gave thanks to JCK for their continued support in promoting responsible business practices with their ongoing support for RJC.