MONTH IN REVIEW
APRIL
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DIAMONDS
WFDB welcomes GIA’s changes to reports
for lab-grown diamonds
The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) has “welcomed” the
changes by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to its reports for lab-
grown diamonds.
The GIA said its reports will be changed to come into line with revisions to the US
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Jewelry Guides announced last year. As of 1 July,
the GIA will discontinue the ‘GIA Synthetic Diamond Grading Report’ and introduce,
instead, the ‘GIA Laboratory-Grown Diamond Report’.
APPOINTMENTS
RJC appoints Iris Van der Veken as new
executive director
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), has appointed Iris Van der Veken as its
next executive director, effective immediately.
The standard setting and certification body said Van der Veken has wide-ranging
international experience in the diamond, gold, jewellery and fashion industries. She is also
the first woman to become the organisation’s executive director and replaces Andrew
Bone who was appointed in June 2015.
RETAIL
Retail openings slump to lowest levels on
record, says PWC
A record net 2,481 stores disappeared from the UK’s top 500 high streets in 2018,
according to PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC).
According to the firm, store openings also dropped to nine a day - almost half the
levels of five years ago - due to “structural change in consumer habits”.
Additionally, the number of store openings by multiple retailers dropped by 17.4% year-on-
year with the current rate of openings at nine stores per day. This also represents a 44%
decrease from the 16 stores per day opening in 2013.
SUSTAINABILITY
Signet Jewellers releases first CSR report
Signet Jewelers has released its 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report
that highlights the company’s global CSR initiatives.
The report includes Signet’s progress toward goals set across its four CSR key areas:
people, responsible sourcing, environmental stewardship and charitable giving. For
the first time, the company produced an integrated CSR report with its annual report,
streamlining the way Signet “communicates with stakeholders and investors”.
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MAY 2019 | WWW.JEWELLERYFOCUS.CO.UK
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