RESPONSIBLE SOURCING
BAREQUEROS
Since 2019, Chopard has been involved in a challenging new project to support artisanal communities supplying gold from the “Barequeros”, artisanal gold miners from El Chocó in Colombia. This exciting and rewarding pilot initiative has built a fully-traceable and responsible international supply chain as well as improving the livelihoods of more than 700 independent individual miners.
RJC-CERTIFIED REFINERIES
Encouraged by this approach to recycling our gold scraps, we created our second Ethical gold supply chain by purchasing gold through RJC Chain of Custody (CoC)-certified refineries.
The RJC CoC Standard sets out requirements for the identification and tracking of ‘Eligible Material’, such as recycled gold screened and confirmed as originating from eligible recyclable sources.
DIAMONDS
The diamond sector has undergone significant transformations over the past 15 years. Today, the Kimberley Process has been successful in virtually eliminating conflict diamonds from the market. It now embodies the most successful international consensus agreement in terms of regulating diamond mining. In the same vein, the Responsible Jewellery Council has provided effective standards and codes of practice for the industry to self-regulate.
At Chopard, we support and follow the principles for transparency stipulated by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the World Diamond Council System of Warranties. We have also put in place a self-regulation initiative for all diamond suppliers, requiring them to refrain from buying or selling conflict diamonds, diamonds from suspect or unknown sources, as well as diamonds from countries and regions that have not implemented the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Stones not complying with this scheme are immediately refused.
COLOURED GEMSTONES
Unlike diamonds, coloured stones were not subject to any international regulations to guarantee their traceability and mining conditions. Since 2019, the Responsible Jewellery Council has included coloured gemstones in their certification scope.
At Chopard we continually strive to increase the overall sustainability performance of our collections while working closely with our sourcing partners to ensure the greatest possible transparency with regard to the provenance of coloured gemstones.
Well aware of the numerous challenges associated with the responsible sourcing of coloured gemstones, we joined the Coloured Gemstones Working Group (CGWG) in 2019, a unique alliance between the world's leading luxury jewellery brands and gemstone mining companies that intends to improve and make corporate sustainability accessible to all in the gemstone industry. The main goal is to provide relevant and appropriate educational, training and management resources as well as expert support to enable any business in the coloured gemstone supply chain to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable development and participate in a responsible and transparent industry.
LEATHER
Because ethical concerns should not focus exclusively on gold, our Journey to Sustainable Luxury also extends to straps and leather goods accessories. Consequently, we are committed to building internal standards covering traceability, social and environmental impact as well as animal welfare with regard to other key raw materials such as leather.
We work closely with our strap suppliers to map our supply chain, including full traceability requirements for all tanneries and visibility in terms of the slaughterhouses and breeding farms in various countries.