PARIS — Luxury conglomerate Compagnie Financière Richemont, French luxury group Kering and Danish jewelry brand Pandora said on Wednesday they were stepping down from the Responsible Jewelry Council in protest over its failure to cut ties with Russia, one of the world’s leading producers of diamonds.
Richemont, the owner of watch and jewelry brands including Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, made the announcement on the opening day of the Watches & Wonders fair in Geneva. The first in-person watch trade show since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic has been overshadowed by concerns about the impact of the war in Ukraine and a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in China.
Richemont said it decided to step down from the RJC in line with the trade group’s code of practice articles on human rights and supply chain due diligence. “Richemont and its maisons do not wish to be members of an industry organization that includes companies that contribute to financing conflicts and wars,” it said in a statement provided to WWD.
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Kering, which last year announced a partnership with Cartier and the RJC on the Watch and Jewelry Initiative 2030, also announced its withdrawal.
“In view of the Responsible Jewelry Council’s inability to face the current situation in Europe in a way that is consistent with Kering’s corporate values, the group has decided, via its jewelry houses Boucheron, Pomellato and Qeelin, along with Gucci, to withdraw from the council,” it said in a statement.
“Kering does not want to be associated in any way with business practices that contribute to an endorsement of war,” it added.
Kering chief sustainability officer and head of institutional affairs Marie-Claire Daveu and Cartier chief executive officer Cyrille Vigneron are due to appear on a panel at Watches & Wonders on Friday discussing the joint initiative, which sets out environmental targets for the industry, but the RJC will not take part, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Pandora said it has asked the RJC to suspend Russian companies’ memberships and responsible business certifications, and urge its members to suspend business with Russia. It decided to revoke its 12-year membership of the trade group because of its failure to respond.
“The war requires all businesses to act with the utmost responsibility regarding any interactions or business dealings with Russia and Belarus. Pandora cannot in good faith be a member of an association that does not share our values,” CEO Alexander Lacik said in a statement.
Pandora suspended all business with Russia and Belarus on Feb. 24. It has also instructed all of its suppliers and business partners that no raw materials, products or services supplied to Pandora can come directly or indirectly from Russia or Belarus.
The RJC, which has almost 1,500 members, said it was “deeply shocked and concerned” by the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis, and has launched an independent, third-party legal assessment into what steps it should take.
“This process was commenced to consider the status of Alrosa as an RJC member, to ensure that the appropriate action taken, was done so respecting the principles of natural justice and importantly that it was within the powers of the board,” RJC chair David Bouffard said in a statement.
The Russian diamond mining company, which accounts for around a quarter of global diamond production, earlier this month voluntarily stepped down as vice chair of the RJC and temporarily left its board. Alrosa has also suspended its membership and funding of the Natural Diamond Council.
“The RJC appreciates that the pace of this process may be frustrating, but this is an unprecedented situation, which is constantly changing and requires that the time be taken to ensure that due process is followed as exhaustively as possible. It will however be concluded imminently,” Bouffard said.
Tiffany & Co., the U.S. jeweler owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said last week it stopped sourcing diamonds mined in Russia, effective March 21.
An executive order signed on March 11 by President Joe Biden banned, along with other high-end products, the import of Russian-mined diamonds into the U.S. But if the stones are cut and polished elsewhere, it makes it difficult to impose such restrictions — particularly due to the diamond industry’s sometimes murky supply chain traceability. — With contributions from Samantha Conti
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