RJC — Responsible Jewellery Council
RJC — Responsible Jewellery Council
The standards body whose Code of Practices and Chain of Custody underpin ESG reporting across the jewellery supply chain
The Responsible Jewellery Council, almost universally referred to in the trade as RJC, is an international not-for-profit standards-setting organisation founded in 2005 to advance ethical, social, and environmental practice across the jewellery and watch supply chain. Headquartered in London with regional offices in New York, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Sydney, the Council issues two principal standards — the Code of Practices and the Chain of Custody — and accredits independent auditors to verify member compliance. RJC certification has become the default reference point for institutional buyers, financial counterparties, and ESG-focused investors evaluating jewellery-sector supply chains.
Origins and governance
The Council was founded by fourteen member organisations drawn from across the jewellery value chain — miners, refiners, trade associations, manufacturers, and retailers — in response to the same external pressures that gave rise to the Kimberley Process for diamonds and to broader corporate social responsibility frameworks of the early 2000s. RJC is governed by a board elected by its membership and supported by technical committees that maintain the standards. Membership has grown from the original fourteen to more than 1,800 organisations across upstream, midstream, and downstream segments.
The Code of Practices
The RJC Code of Practices, abbreviated CoP, is mandatory for all members and addresses human rights, labour standards, environmental management, product disclosure, anti-corruption, and responsible sourcing of gold, silver, platinum-group metals, diamonds, and coloured gemstones. New members are required to achieve certification within two years of joining and to undergo independent third-party audit on a three-year cycle. The CoP has been revised on an approximately five-year cadence; the 2019 revision strengthened due-diligence provisions in alignment with OECD guidance, and successive revisions continue to track international human-rights and environmental frameworks.
The Chain of Custody standard
The RJC Chain of Custody standard, abbreviated CoC, is a voluntary certification that verifies the provenance and traceability of precious metals from mine through refining and manufacture to retail. Introduced in 2012 and most recently revised in 2017, the CoC requires documented custody transfers, segregation of certified material, and independent audit of each link in the chain. Certified material may carry the RJC CoC claim on invoice and on certain disclosure formats, supporting downstream claims of responsibly sourced metal. The CoC is distinct from and complementary to the mandatory CoP.
Position in the market
RJC certification is increasingly required in institutional procurement and is referenced in ESG due-diligence frameworks at major banks, insurers, and luxury-group counterparties. The Council coordinates with the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO), the World Gold Council, the London Bullion Market Association, the OECD, and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to align its standards with broader regulatory and voluntary frameworks. RJC does not replace national-level conflict-mineral or supply-chain regulation; rather, it provides an industry-recognised mechanism for member firms to evidence due diligence.
In the trade
For independent dealers and bench jewellers, RJC certification is most relevant when supplying institutional buyers, listed retailers, or counterparties with formal ESG procurement policies. The audit cost and documentation burden are non-trivial, but membership and certification have become a near-prerequisite for engaging with the largest luxury groups and the financial institutions that fund them. Buyers should distinguish between RJC membership, RJC CoP certification, and RJC CoC certification — these are increasingly conflated in marketing copy but represent materially different commitments.