By Silke Koltrowitz
ZURICH – With Russian gold and diamonds off-limits as a result of battle in Ukraine, makers of luxurious jewelry and watches are discovering it tougher to safe uncooked supplies and handle human rights points in provide chains.
Russia is the world’s largest producer of pure diamonds, in response to the World Diamond Council, and the second-largest gold miner, in response to the World Gold Council.
Cartier maker Richemont stated in March it was not shopping for any diamonds mined in Russia because the Feb. 24 invasion, and it reaffirmed in its sustainability report https://www.richemont.com/en/dwelling/media/press-releases-and-news/richemont-reports-strong-fy22-esg-performance on Thursday it was not shopping for any recycled gold from Russia.
Recycled gold is beneath scrutiny as a result of it might include gold of doubtful origin.
Non-governmental organisation Swissaid stated final month a soar in Swiss gold imports from Dubai https://www.bazg.admin.ch/bazg/fr/dwelling/themen/schweizerische-aussenhandelsstatistik/daten/waren/gold.spa.gold.app/gold_fr.html in March raised questions over whether or not Russian gold was discovering its means by way of Dubai.
Reuters didn't discover proof to again up that declare, however Robin Kolvenbach, chief govt of Swiss gold refinery Argor-Heraeus, informed Reuters: “One can assume that gold from Russia additionally leads to Western worth chains by way of Dubai.”
Kolvenbach stated Argor-Heraeus has not accepted gold from Russian helpful house owners since Feb. 24.
“I’ve heard there are challenges in Dubai, we don’t purchase gold from there,” Richemont’s new sustainability head, Berangere Ruchat, informed Reuters.
Dubai’s authorities media workplace didn't instantly reply to a request for remark.
Ruchat stated Richemont had the instruments and expertise to segregate the origin of its uncooked supplies and aimed to know by 2025 the precise origin of all its gold.
It sources 94% of its gold via its in-house refinery Varinor that focuses on recycled gold of commercial origin or previous jewelry from North America, Western Europe and Japan, however doesn't disclose its suppliers.
Swatch Group stated in its 2021 sustainability report https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/swatch-group/sustainability-report that it averted utilizing recycled gold from exterior sources given the shortage of traceability again to the mine.
Household-owned watchmaker Patek Philippe stated it trusted its suppliers and the foundations set by the federal government for uncooked materials sourcing, whereas Chopard didn't return requests for remark.
Rolex stated it had arrange its personal traceability system for gold from the mine to the completed product, licensed by exterior audits. It was additionally growing its personal certification mannequin for diamonds, requiring its suppliers to speak the origin of every batch.
An vital instrument for jewelry and luxurious watch firms to certify the origin of recycled gold are the Accountable Jewelry Council (RJC) labels that business gamers keep away from criticising in public.
An exception was when the Excessive Horology Basis that's near Richemont stated in official feedback https://fedlex.information.admin.ch/filestore/fedlex.information.admin.ch/eli/dl/proj/2021/28/cons_1/doc_6/fr/pdf-a/fedlex-data-admin-ch-eli-dl-proj-2021-28-cons_1-doc_6-fr-pdf-a.pdf on a Swiss due diligence reform final yr: “RJC requirements have a loophole that makes it very simple to supply recycled gold – scraps are recycled and turn out to be de facto accountable Chain-of-Custody (CoC) licensed gold.”
The CoC is the RJC‘s strictest commonplace for supplies that ought to, in response to its web site, “inform the entire story about how they have been sourced, traced and processed, from mine to retail”. Solely 221 of the RJC‘s greater than 1,500 members are CoC licensed.
The business physique’s popularity was shaken in March when Richemont, Pandora and Kering left over the RJC‘s ties with Russia’s state-owned diamond producer Alrosa.
Richemont executives criticised the RJC‘s governance on the time, however Ruchat stated they have been now speaking once more to avoid wasting the 15 years of labor on an ordinary that was vital to have.
The RJC stated a lot of the firms that stepped down had since returned. It didn't touch upon how it might enhance its labels or governance.
Laurent Maeder, professor at Sustainability Administration College SUMAS, stated gold mining was laborious, harmful work utilizing plenty of chemical compounds.
“You don’t have clear gold or clear diamonds even when they're labeled honest,” he informed Reuters.
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