Both the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and Platinum Guild International (PGI) previously supported the Jewellery Industry Fair; however, Jeweller has learned that both industry bodies have withdrawn from the event.
In fact, PGI has not only cancelled its appearance at the upcoming Jewellery Industry Fair, but it has also axed a commercial agreement with Laura Moore’s Jewellery Industry Network following an investigation into the $14 million collapse or companies associated with Moore, and company co-founder, Angham Andy Phanthapangna.
PGI had previously endorsed the Jewellery Industry Network, hosting seminars about its online training platform, Certified Jewellery Professional, at the Melbourne edition of the Jewellery Industry Fair in March.
This month, PGI's head of global business development, Philip Romans, was scheduled to feature as a guest speaker at the Sydney edition of the Jewellery Industry Fair.
This followed an April announcement of a ‘partnership’ between PGI and the Jewellery Industry Network to launch the Certified Jewellery Professional program in Australia.
The April 19 news stated that the partnership "signals a meaningful step forward for professional development across the Australasian market."
Despite subsequent promotion in June declaring "The launch of the Certified Jewellery Professional (CJP) program through a partnership with the Jewellery Industry Network (JIN) is introducing a more formalised and comprehensive approach to jewellery retail education across Australia and New Zealand", the commercial partnership was cancelled.
Director of global corporate marketing, Zhenzhen Liu, told Jeweller, "PGI is no longer pursuing commercial activities in the Australian market. PGI therefore has no ongoing commercial relationship with Jewellery Industry Network or any other Australian jewellery industry bodies."
Jeweller sought clarification from Liu on why the commercial partnership was axed; however, she did not respond.
Given recent controversy surrounding two of the founding directors of Jewellery Industry Network, Liu and CEO Tim Schlick were asked whether PGI had undertaken appropriate due diligence before deciding to endorse Jewellery Industry Network and enter into a commercial “partnership" with the company. They did not provide comment.
PGI was established in 1975 and acts as a global marketing and development association, funded by South African platinum producers.
Schlick was asked whether the organisation had discussed offering jewellery training via the online platform with the local industry, including the Jewellers Association of Australia (JAA).
Both the JAA and PGI are not-for-profit member-based industry bodies.
Schlick did not respond; however, Liu said PGI is not required to “seek permission or approval from JAA before entering into any sort of commercial supply or marketing arrangement with a third-party company.”
While Romans' photo and details about the PGI training seminar were removed from the Jewellery Industry Fair website, promotion for the program - which offers Jewellery Industry Network members a 35 per cent discount - still appears on the Jewellery World website.
Responsible Jewellery Council
In similar news, Purvi Shah, the newly appointed executive director of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), has told Jeweller that her association would not participate in the Jewellery Industry Fair.
Last year, the RJC's interim executive director John Hall endorsed the Jewellery Industry Network by attending and speaking at the Jewellery Industry Fair in Sydney.
At the time, Hall was described as "one of the jewellery world’s leading voices on ethical, transparent, and sustainable practices, [and] brings a wealth of global insight.”
It was said that his session would “unpack the latest RJC regulations, providing clarity on compliance, consumer expectations, and the future of responsible sourcing."
As previously reported, Shah has been involved with the RJC since 2018 and has served on its board since 2023. She has more than 15 years of experience working in the jewellery industry and took the reins from Hall late last year.
In early July, she told Jeweller that as executive director, her focus would be on "trust and credibility".
"Over the next two years, my priority is to continue strengthening RJC's role as a trusted standards-setting organisation that supports responsible business practices across the global watch and jewellery supply chain,” she said.
"Looking further ahead, I would like to see RJC continue to build trust and credibility through continual improvement, transparency and meaningful stakeholder engagement, while remaining focused on our core mission of advancing responsible business practices throughout the watch and jewellery industry".
After reviewing the RJC's participation in the Jewellery Industry Fair – which was organised before she assumed the leadership role - Shah said it would not continue.
"The RJC participates in a number of events worldwide to support our membership and to reach prospective members,” she advised.
“It is my understanding that the RJC did engage with Jewellery World and the Jewellery Industry Fair in the context of its ongoing industry engagement, consistent with its broader approach to working with industry to extend awareness of its work, standards and activities.”
Shah explained that the RJC was not involved in the controversies surrounding the Jewellery Industry Network and that they “are separate from the RJC’s [industry] engagement and participation”.
This is not the first time that the RJC's governance, ethics, and transparency have been called into question. See below.
Despite the RJC’s previous support for Jewellery Industry Network and Hall’s endorsement of last year’s Jewellery Industry Fair, she added: “It is important to distinguish these engagements from any endorsement of the organisers, individual directors, exhibitors, speakers or their wider commercial activities”.
These issues aside, Shah explained, "The RJC will not be present at their [Moore's] upcoming event."
The RJC was established in 2005 to promote ethical, social, and environmental practices across the watch and jewellery supply chain as a self-described 'world-leading standards-setting' organisation.
Responsible Jewellery Council - Do as we say, not as we do
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) is a not-for-profit organisation that describes itself as the world's leading standard-setting organisation advancing responsible business practices and standards across the global jewellery and watch supply chain.
The organisation has faced many controversies since its creation in 2005.
» The Russia Walkout: Arguably the most notable of these occurred when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022, with the fallout leading many large supporters of the RJC to cancel their membership. A rival trade body, the Watch and Jewellery Initiative 2030, launched around this time, with former RJC executive director Iris Van der Veken taking the reins in July 2022. This appointment came just four months after she resigned as executive director of the RJC. » Standards for everyone else: The RJC's governance standards, due diligence, and responsible business practices have faced consistent scrutiny. It's website currently lists 40 staff and although the RJC is a not-for-profit member-based association, it allows its staff to run their own for-profit businesses while remaining on the organisation’s payroll. Naturally, this creates the potential for conflicts of interest; however, when questioned on these matters, the RJC has failed to be transparent about this practice. » The undeclared side of business: In 2024, it was discovered that the dual roles of at least one staff member - Katie Manderson, who works in communications and public relations - were not declared on either the RJC website or her own business website, Honest PR London. At the time, Jeweller reported that Manderson's HonestPR website listed Gemfields as a client – a colour gemstone producer that has been the subject of many controversies itself. Although the company was not an RJC member, at least one prominent subsidiary, Faberge, was. (Gemfields later sold Faberge to SMG Capital in August 2025.) » 'Real', 'genuine', and ignored: Another controversy involving the RJC was the mismanagement of false and deceptive advertising by jewellery retailer Michael Hill International, as reported in 2019. The company operates stores in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. As part of a marketing campaign, the retailer provided misleading comments and descriptions about diamonds, saying that its Fenix lab-created diamonds are “not synthetic” and using terminology that did not comply with industry standards, such as ‘real’, ‘genuine’ and ‘authentic’. » 200 missing members: Finally, a significant issue for the RJC was identified in 2022, involving more than 200 ‘missing members’. The RJC website provides a ‘Find A Member’ search tool that serves as a membership directory. An investigation revealed that member information was incomplete on hundreds of records, and worse still, around 200 ‘members’ could not be found at all.
The RJC did not explain why a public registry service intended to connect people with its members contained more than 200 members who could not be located. The issue still remains today. » "Transparency for thee, not for me": Ironically, at this time, then executive director Iris Van der Veken was calling for greater transparency and accountability within the jewellery industry. When questioned about these ‘missing members’, she did not respond. Questions still remain These issues, along with the problematic practices of several other industry associations, led Jeweller to ask: Can we trust the ‘leaders’ of the jewellery industry? As with the story detailed above, these issues predate Purvi Shah’s appointment as executive director of the RJC in February 2026. |
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