RJC'S DIAMOND CHAIN OF CUSTODY: DESTROYING VALUE RATHER THAN CREATING IT - By Chaim Even-Zohar
| CHAIM EVEN-ZOHAR |
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Every day our e-mail's in-box is filled with enthusiastic announcements of yet another diamond company being certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) as "meeting the ethical, human rights, social and environmental standards as established by the RJC's Member Certification System." What these companies may not know (yet) is that the RJC is about to announce its diamond Chain of Custody standards, which - with the best will in the world - can never be properly adhered to by well over 98 percent of the RJC's diamond membership. Of course, the RJC is nothing more than a private initiative aimed at providing its members with a brand that might inspire confidence among retailers and consumers. There is nothing wrong with this - bluntly speaking, whatever it does is none of our business. It's purely a matter for RJC members. However, when the organization forces "mission impossible" standards on its members - when it sets conditions that will destroy value in their clients' businesses - and when it creates a compliance "myth," a compliance "fiction," in the diamond jewelry markets this becomes a grave concern for the entire diamond business. Inevitably, the falsehood of the RJC's claims will be exposed - backfiring not only on its members but also on the diamond industry at large. This must be avoided at any price.
The RJC's CoC system will be based on myth and make-believe in the best of circumstances and turn RJC members into deceivers in the worst of circumstances. Both outcomes should be sufficient reason for the RJC to stop its daily mass-certification and review its fundamentals. If there is a need for the RJC - and by now I would put a question mark here - it needs to be able to demonstrate that its membership adds value rather than destroys it.
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