Richemont Group brands leave the Responsible Jewelry Council

After the RJC failed to cut ties with Russia, Richemont-owned Cartier and other group companies said they had withdrawn from the Responsible Jewelry Council.

The Responsible Jewelry Council is an international association of jewellery and watch companies and their suppliers that aims to promote ethical, socially and environmentally sound and humane business practices. But yesterday, as the Watches and Wonders trade fair got underway in Geneva, Cartier and other Richemont group brands said they were withdrawing from the Responsible Jewellery Council for the simple reason that the industry body has not cut ties with Russia.

“It is not part of our Richemont values to be part of an organisation whose members support conflicts and wars,” explained Cyrille Vigneron, president and CEO of Cartier.

Jewellery maker Pandora also followed suit, saying on Wednesday that it was cutting ties with the RJC.

Russian diamond producer Alrosa‘s membership of the RJC had attracted attention, although the company voluntarily withdrew from the RJC board earlier this month for obvious reasons. Alrosa was added to a list of UK sanctions last week and Washington has targeted both the company and its CEO Sergei Ivanov, who the US Treasury says is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s closest allies.

Richemont, which has suspended operations, including e-commerce, in Russia, also said it had stopped sourcing diamonds from the country since 24 February.

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Featured photo : © Cartier

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Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.