MUMBAI – The RJC today announced the outcomes of its third round of successful engagement sessions with the Indian diamond and jewellery market.
This round of engagement centred on Code of Practices training for compliance teams within RJC Members and interested companies in Mumbai and Surat. The sessions focused on areas where specific guidance for India has been developed, areas of common non-conformance, and new provisions in the 2013 Code of Practices. The RJC’s new Provenance Claims provision was also presented with discussion of how it can be used for synthetic-free diamonds or conflict-free gold claims. One of the Surat sessions included Gujarati translation of the presentation and Q&A discussions, with translation support provided by Mr Kinjal Shah of I. Hennig brokers. Overall, 118 people from 56 companies participated in the training across 3 sessions, which were led by Dr Fiona Solomon – RJC Director, Standards Development.
An auditor field training session was also convened with auditor representatives from four RJC Accredited Auditor firms. The session was an opportunity to discuss audit interpretation issues and for RJC to provide guidance to ensure consistency across audits. The session was kindly hosted by Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd at their Surat campus and included a facilitated tour of the factory and other facilities.
The week culminated with a high-level meeting of RJC’s new India Forum. After a series of exploratory discussions with stakeholders over the past six months, the RJC India Forum was convened today to provide a platform of engagement between the Indian market and the RJC Board. The more than 20 India Forum participants are drawn from key associations as well as RJC Members and non-Members in the diamond and jewellery sectors. The inaugural meeting, held in Mumbai on Monday 14 April, brought together a range of valuable perspectives on how RJC can successfully grow its footprint in India. Two key outcomes from the meeting were for RJC to focus on B2B marketing and creating intrinsic drivers for certification uptake.
“RJC wraps up this valuable week with a tangible portfolio of information and feedback on the priorities for supporting RJC uptake in the Indian market. In the short term, 2014 will deliver an elevated level of attention and service to current and joining RJC Members. We look forward to returning in July for the Indian International Jewellery Show with a new dimension to our engagement and recruitment strategy in India. Longer term, we remain committed to this market and its success and look forward to working closely with the RJC-India Forum to achieve this goal, building on the positive feedback to date,” says Catherine Sproule, RJC Chief Executive Officer – Interim.
RJC recognises the vital role that all of our Members play in embedding and growing the value of RJC Certification for proactive companies in this and other markets. RJC congratulates the current 45 RJC Members headquartered in India, including 37 Certified Members, for their leadership and welcomes those now embarking on their Membership journey.
Participants at the RJC Auditor Field Training session held at Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd., Surat, on Saturday April 12, 2014.
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