Baselworld, the World Watch and Jewellery Show, has become an official Supporter of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), and in that it is the first jewellery trade fair to announce aligning its commitment to transparent business endeavours with the RJC’s mission. RJC endeavours to advance ethical practices throughout the jewellery supply chain from mine to retail.

Baselworld, with its large scope of over 100,700 trade buyers from 100 countries, will add impetus to RJC’s efforts of reaching a wide breadth of the industry with its message of responsible business practices backed by independent, third-party audits. “We are keen to assist our exhibitors in this crucial goal of consumer confidence and believe that our support of the Responsible Jewellery Council will achieve this objective. Through the Council we seek to ensure the responsible and ethical advancement of the industry,” says Sylvie Ritter, Managing Director, Baselworld.

“Baselworld can greatly contribute to the work the RJC is currently undertaking,” says Michael Rae, the RJC’s Chief Executive Officer. Through 2010, RJC will be working on the development of a chain-of-custody initiative as an optional complement to the existing RJC certification. The RJC aims to assist RJC Members seeking voluntary certification of chain-of-custody systems.