The  Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has announced that the French  jewellery manufacturer, Gay Frères, is the first Member to be certified  against the ethical, human rights, social and environmental standards as  established by the RJC's Member Certification System.

Gay Frères' RJC Member Certification results from a successful  verification assessment conducted by STR, an international audit firm  which was the RJC's first accredited auditor, as announced at the JCK  Las Vegas trade fair in June.

"The RJC is delighted to congratulate Gay Frères becoming its first  RJC Certified Member. This important milestone builds on five years of  sustained effort by the RJC's Members to create the independent third  party RJC Member Certification System applicable from mine to retail",  says Matt Runci, RJC's Chairman.

"RJC Certified Members have the benefit of recognition against an  international certification system, supporting their own reputations and  enhancing consumer confidence in the jewellery supply chain more  generally. Many RJC Members have commenced the process towards  Certification and we look forward to announcing their achievements over  the coming months", says Matt Runci.

Founded in 1835, Gay Frères is well known as a manufacturer and  supplier of the greatest European jewellery brands, employing 300 people  and producing 1000 jewellery pieces on a daily basis. With more than  170 years of history in the jewellery industry, the company relies on  the most modern technologies combined with artisanal expertise.

"We are most proud to be the first RJC Member to achieve this  important certification and we encourage others within the industry to  follow suit so that they too can evidence responsible business  practices. We are committed to improving industry standards and to  supporting the RJC's mission", says Claude Schlappi, Gay Frères's  Director.

"STR is honoured to have completed the first ever RJC verification  assessment and Certification recommendation for Gay Frères. Gay Frères  carried out a thorough self assessment to ensure they met RJC Code of  Practices. While conducting our independent verification of their self  assessment, we found that Gay Frères not only met the requirements, but  made it a smooth process by communicating with us transparently and  ensuring their whole management team was available during the process.  STR looks forward to working with other RJC Members on their path to  Certification", says Russ Childrey, Vice President STR Responsible  Sourcing.

"The Union Française BJOP was delighted to learn that Gay Frères have  been certified and we hope that this very important step for this  company encourages other companies to do the same. We believe that it is  in the best interests of all our members to ensure that they, and in  turn the consumer, can have confidence in the integrity of the products  that they buy and sell. BJOP strongly supports the Council and we are  continuing to reinforce the RJC mission within our members", says  Bernadette Pinet Cuoq, Chief Executive Officer, BJOP.

Ref: <a href="http://www.gjepc.org/news/view.aspx?NewsId=7831" target="_blank">GJEPC</a>