EXCLUSIVE: Responsible Jewellery Council Launches Standard for Lab-grown Stones
PARIS — Lab-grown diamonds may still be largely uncharted territory, but the segment won’t turn into the Wild West if the Responsible Jewellery Council can help it.
On Tuesday, the U.K.-based organization that sets environmental and social guidelines for the watch and jewelry industry is introducing a standard for lab-grown diamonds and colored gemstones.
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Dubbed the RJC Laboratory Grown Material Standard, or LGMS, its provisions cover topics that range from legal compliance, environmental management to human rights, labor rights and working conditions. Appraisal and grading are also included in its scope.
“Our mission at RJC is to promote responsible business practices from laboratory or mine to retail,” the organization’s chairman Dave Meleski said in a statement. “With the LGMS, we are not just setting a standard; we are setting a vision for a future where elegance and ethics go hand in hand. We believe that every diamond, whether mined or lab-grown, can be celebrated without compromising our values.”
Adherence to the new standard will be voluntary for the first year for existing RJC members, with an effective date of March 31. After a one-year transition period, during which standards guidance and other materials will be finalized, the LGMS will become mandatory for any member handling lab-grown materials.
Companies will be expected to implement and document the standard’s technical and organizational requirements to ensure clarity, transparency and accuracy around their practices and products. They will be audited for compliance by independent third-party auditors accredited by the RJC.
There will also be optional training and educational modules as well as streamlined auditing processes tailored to companies handling both lab-grown and natural materials. Audits for the new LGMS and the RJC’s existing “Code of Practices” standard covering natural stones will be combined, provided companies are compliant with the latest COP 2024 or subsequent versions.
John Hall, interim executive director of the RJC, said the organization’s goal with the LGMS was to “ensure only best practices from laboratory to consumer,” as per its overarching mission of fostering trust in the sector and helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions.
According to a 2024 report by insights firm Allied Market Research, the global market for lab-grown diamonds, estimated at $24 billion in 2022, is expected to more than double to $59.2 billion by 2032.
Currently counting more than 2,000 members in 74 countries, the Responsible Jewellery Council was founded in 2005 by 14 organizations including the World Jewelry Confederation (CIBJO), the De Beers Group-owned Diamond Trading Company, mining conglomerate Rio Tinto as well as jewelers such as Cartier and Tiffany & Co.
It came under fire in 2022 when members including Compagnie Financière Richemont, French luxury group Kering and Danish jeweler Pandora stepped down in protest over the RJC’s failure to cut ties with Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian mining company Alrosa, then vice chair and board member of the RJC, voluntarily stepped down before subsequently leaving the organization.
Since its inception, the RJC has developed the “Code of Practices,” comprising 45 provisions geared toward responsible business practices from mine to retail in the jewelry industry, and the “Chain of Custody,” which defines how companies should handle and trade gold, silver and platinum group metals for full traceability and responsible sourcing. Both are regularly updated, most recently in 2024.
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