Cartier and other Richemont labels leave Responsible Jewellery Council

The emblem of luxury items team Richemont’s flagship brand name Cartier is found at a department in Zurich, Switzerland, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/

GENEVA, March 30 (Reuters) – Cartier and other labels of the Richemont (CFR.S) group have stepped down from the Dependable Jewelry Council (RJC) following the business entire body unsuccessful to reduce ties with Russia, executives from the group advised reporters at the Watches and Miracles watchmakers marketplace truthful on Wednesday.

“It is not element of our Richemont values to be section of an corporation in which some customers are supporting conflicts and wars,” claimed Cyrille Vigneron, president and main govt officer of Cartier.

Jewellery maker Pandora PNDORA.CO also explained on Wednesday it was chopping ties with the RJC, which sets moral standards for the jewellery and observe marketplace.

The membership of Russia’s condition-owned Alrosa (ALRS.MM) in the RJC has drawn scrutiny, even although the business stepped down voluntarily from the RJC’s board before this month.

The Russian diamond producer — the world’s greatest — was additional to a United kingdom sanctions listing very last week and Washington has specific equally the company and its CEO Sergei Ivanov, who, the U.S. Treasury claimed, is reportedly a person of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies.

In an emailed assertion to Reuters Wednesday, RJC chair David A. Bouffard, mentioned a 3rd-social gathering legal assessment of Alrosa’s membership position, kicked off at the get started of the war, would be concluded “imminently”, noting the corporation “appreciates that the tempo of this course of action may possibly be disheartening.”

“We are not hoping to make a statement per se, we are making an attempt to uphold the pretty higher criteria we’ve been shaping around final 15 years. If RJC simply cannot uphold greatest of expectations, then we can not be part of that. That’s why we stepped down,” Richemont chief economical officer Burkhart Grund explained of the luxury group’s choice to depart the RJC.

Grund added that the luxury group would glimpse into how to certify its labels in buy to reassure buyers.

Richemont, which has suspended functions which include e-commerce in Russia, also explained it has stopped sourcing diamonds from the region due to the fact Feb. 24.

Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz and Mimosa Spencer, crafting by Mimosa Spencer, Enhancing by Louise Heavens, William Maclean

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