Following the resignation of Iris Van der Veken on March 29, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) has appointed vice chairman John Hall as interim executive director, IDEX Online reports.
Iris Van der Veken, who served as executive director of the RJC since 2019, quit her post, “reportedly unhappy that the 1,500-member group was still certifying diamonds from Alrosa, which is a third owned by the Russian government,” according to an earlier report. Alrosa suspended its membership of the RJC following her departure.
Several big departures have hit the RJC lately over its perceived failure to take a strong enough stand against Russia; these include Pandora, the Danish charm maker; Richemont, the Swiss-based company that counts Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-leCoultre and Piaget among its 26 maisons; Kering, French owner of Boucheron, Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, and British-based Watches of Switzerland Group.
