• There are no changes to the 2019 materials in scope and all changes have been validated to ensure the RJC maintains harmonisation with other standards and cross-recognition where relevant.  

• A greater focus and guidance on Human Rights due diligence aligned to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This is already an important provision in the COP Standard, and we hope the additional guidance will provide further support to help our members develop appropriate approaches to conformance. 

• Expanded the provision on Claims to include not just provenance claims but all other types of claims being made in relation to the topics in scope and to RJC certification.  

• Strengthened the environmental requirements, including those relating to climate, waste and emissions and biodiversity based on activity and potential impact of the member.  

• Reinforcement of supply chain due diligence and greater emphasis on tracing the supply chain and undertaking enhanced KYC with a focus of going further back to the origin of materials. 

• Added more requirements in relation to diversity and inclusivity, community health & safety and cultural heritage. 

• Many of these changes have also been designed to move the COP standard further into alignment with other emerging standards where needed. 

For a more detailed comparison of the 2019 and 2024 COP, click here.

• Removal of duplicated provisions 1 and 2 which replicate the requirements in COP provisions 7 and 12 (OECD COP 7 due diligence requirements, COP 12 KYC). 

• Inclusion of a requirement for additional reporting requirements applicable to refiners under provision 2.5 to extend a requirement from the COP 2024 standard into the COC, pending the time when all COC certified members are also certified to the new COP standard. Strengthened the due diligence requirements for accepting material to be classed as eligible recycled and aligned this in many cases to the due diligence for mined material, together with some aspirational requirements to go beyond the point of origin for recycling (the collector) to the origin of the material itself wherever possible. 

• Changed the nomenclature of “eligible grandfathered” to “legacied” as the term “grandfathered” has negative historical connotations in some countries. Both terms are being kept in the glossary to maintain alignment to the OECD. 

• Linked to the COP, the requirements in relation to product declarations have been strengthened. 

• Strengthened and clarified the due diligence and traceability requirements including for tailings, as well as requirements to allow COC material to re-enter the supply chain where it is clearly identifiable e.g., returns of excess retail stock. 

• Incorporated Supplemental Guidance requirements, including clearer guidance on controls of outsourcing and service providers and a recognition that, where services that do not change the COC material are delivered by owned or affiliated entities within a member’s control they can be treated in the same way as third-party service companies. 

For a more detailed comparison of the 2017 and 2024 COC, click here.

As part of the full review of the COC standard, RJC conducted three rounds of public consultations with a wide range of stakeholders to update the definition of recycled materials (covering all metals in scope for the COC standard; gold, silver and platinum group metals). The most consistent messaging received from directly interested parties was: 

• To aim for alignment with the proposed ISO work to define recycled gold.  

• To ensure that any changes did not significantly impact on the recognition in place with other major initiatives (OECD, LBMA, RMI et al.). 

• To strengthen associated due diligence and minimise potential challenges in relation to “greenwashing” or unsupported claims.  

This has resulted in a definition that accepts materials from pre-consumer, post-consumer and waste to be included. This builds on the existing 2017 version of the COC Standard, with an evolution to continue to encourage members to trace recycled materials beyond the origin and to provide greater transparency to customers. The associated due diligence and verification requirements have been strengthened and it should be noted that investment materials (even if previously made of recycled gold) continue to be excluded, due to the difficulty in conducting due diligence on such sources.   

RJC consults with industry experts, as well as following the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems, which outlines how to carry out a public consultation when reviewing standards. The standard is then reviewed by the RJC team in collaboration with a multi-stakeholder RJC Standards Committee, who support in decision making based on the outcomes of the consultations.   

For the COP standard, we conducted three rounds of 60-day public consultations on the draft standard. These took place from 8th October – 10th December 2021, 28th February – 29th April 2022 and 8th April – 7th June 2024 respectively.   

For the COC standard we conducted two rounds of 60-day public consultation on the draft standard followed by a 30-day consultation focused on eligible recycled materials. These consultations took place from 17th October – 17th December 2022, 16th November 2023 – 31st January 2024 and 11th April – 13th May 2024 respectively.  

For the LGMS, we conducted two rounds of 60-day public consultation. The first consultation took place in October 2021 to gather insights on key risks and expectations for a proposed standard. The second consultation was held in July 2024 on a proposed draft standard.  

This second round of consultations confirmed no substantial changes were needed and as a result, a third full consultation was not required but was replaced by a round of direct engagement with interested parties. 

The public consultations sought feedback from a wide range of stakeholders that would be impacted by changes made to the standards and timelines were set to give ample opportunity to provide comments. Feedback was collected through a variety of channels including; surveys, roundtables, emails and one-to-one meetings. The revision of the standards was also made possible through the collaborations of the RJC multi-stakeholder Standards Committee with direct input on each evolving draft throughout the process. For the LGMS, a specialised “Taskforce” of 12 experts was convened to support the RJC and Standards Committee with technical expertise throughout the development and consultation process. Standard-setting decisions are made with the objective of achieving consensus. Where consensus is not possible, decisions are made by a majority vote. More information can be found within the RJC Standard-Setting Procedure document. 

Both standards come into force on 1 January 2025 and will supersede the previous versions. The accompanying Standard Guidance will be published in December 2024. To support our members with understanding the new requirements, training will be available throughout 2025; keep up to date with what with have scheduled through our newsletter . The Self-Assessment workbook will be made available in Q1 2025. Existing certifications remain valid and the transition period for moving to the new standards is detailed below. 

Member certification deadlines will not change, and all existing COP and COC certificates remain valid till their expiration dates. 

A 1-year transition period from 1 January 2025 to 1 January 2026 applies for audits as follows: 

Existing members may choose to be certified to either the COP 2019 or COC 2017 Standards or to the 2024 versions during the transition year. 

With auditor training for the 2024 COP and COC Standards to be completed by the 1st of July 2025, existing members and those joining up to July 2025 can choose to be audited against the 2024 versions as of the same date.  

Note: Where Certification Bodies and Auditors have been able to complete all necessary training and other preparations earlier, it may be possible for members to be audited against the 2024 versions as of 1st of April 2025, but not earlier.   

Mid-term reviews and surveillance visits will continue as planned against the COP 2019 and COC 2017 standards until the associated certificates expire, together with any extensions to scope or provenance claim bolt-on audits, where applicable. 

New members that join the RJC from 1 July 2025 onwards must be audited and certified to the 2024 COP and optionally, the COC Standards. 

From 1 January 2026 all new certifications or recertifications must be conducted against the 2024 version Standards.  

Transition timetable 

The COC 2024 standard is available for any member who is certified to the COP 2019 or later. It is not necessary to recertify to the COP 2024 standard, but you should note that the COC certification expiry will be set to match the expiry of the COP certificate to allow for combined audit cycle going forward.  

Some non-COC items that were previously permitted under the previous version of the standard for watches and finished jewellery products to be claimed as being made of COC have been removed.  If you have stock of items that are affected by this change, you will be able to continue to sell these as COC for 1 –year from publication of this Standard. After this time, you’ll need to re-label them as non-COC. Certified members will be required to show compliance with this at their next audit (including surveillance visits).  

In addition to English, the standard and guidance are made available in French, Italian, German and Spanish. We anticipate that translations will become available in early 2025. 

RJC is committed to developing credible and effective standards and continually improving its systems. In accordance with the ISEAL Alliance Standards Setting Code, we commit to a full review of our standards at least once every 5 years. We may review sections, or all the standard earlier as needed. Due to the close alignment of the 2024 COP and LGMS, we will always ensure the two standards are reviewed together. Sign up to the RJC communications mailing list to make sure you get alerted.  

The RJC is unable to review your self-assessment document, members are best placed to complete and objectively review their own self-assessment due to their knowledge of their own operations, procedures, policies, knowledge of local applicable law, etc.

In addition, the COP Guidance document is a great resource for helping members to implement the COP provisions and requirements. The guidance also includes a variety of templates and checklists. We also have a toolkit page that includes all our toolkits to support you in implementing the COP, also containing a variety of tools, checklists and templates.

If you do have any specific questions around certain provisions or non-conformances, please reach out to training@responsiblejewellery.com and indicate the key areas you need support on and we can suggest some steps, provide some resources and guidance to support you.

• Download Code of Practices Guidance (PDF)
• Visit tools and resources

Sourcing exclusively from 2019 COP certified suppliers is not enough to show compliance with COP, even if they provide their certificate, as their certificate does not include any information regarding the origin of the materials or products you are purchasing from them or provide you a copy of their supply chain policy.

Under the OECD Guidance, you are responsible for identifying red flags and carrying out a risk assessment on your suppliers. While RJC certification can assure you that your suppliers are successfully conducting their own due diligence, without the specific information you need to ask them for, you cannot adequately conduct your own.

However, if you are buying from a COP 2019 certified RJC members, the process of information gathering should be streamlined and more efficient because they know what you’re asking for, and why.

RJC has developed a due diligence toolkit to support members with implementing COP 7, which is available here on the RJC website, as well as a dedicated COP 7 training page.

• Download Due Diligence Toolkit (PDF)
• Visit COP 7 Due Diligence training page

Provenance claims are typically made about a product’s origin, verification of source, traceability of material, certification of material or suppliers, or another mechanism to ensure responsible sourcing practices that are not covered elsewhere in the COP.

The RJC has two main requirements for provenance claims:

• a truthful statement of commitment (what is promised); and
• an outline of the underpinning systems that substantiates it (how the promise is achieved).

To achieve conformance with the provision during the audit, you will need to meet requirements for both elements of your provenance claim: the promise and how the promise is achieved.

A provenance claim needs to be certified by the RJC via a “bolt-on” audit which can be conducted at any time during your RJC certification cycle. For further information and support please visit the dedicated COP 14 Provenance Claims training page.

• Visit COP 14 Provenance Claims training page

Companies handling both COP RJC scope materials (diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, gold, silver, platinum group metals) and lab-grown materials (lab–grown diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires) will need to implement both the COP and the LGMS. Existing RJC members will need to inform the RJC of an expansion to their scope of materials, this can be done through the member portal or when booking the next audit. Members have 2 years from the date they joined the RJC to achieve certification. 

Lab-grown diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires intended for the jewellery supply chain are in scope for LGMS. This includes any of the above lab-grown materials that are:     

• whole or partial, composite (assembled), constructed, restructured;    

• coatings (on natural or lab-grown stones); and    

• rough, polished and recycled. 

Existing RJC members handling lab-grown materials need to inform the RJC of their expanded scope, this can be done on the member portal, or when booking your next audit.  

If a member is already certified to the 2019 COP standard, the member must book a combined COP 2024/LGMS audit within the relevant implementation period for LGMS. This will be 12 months from the effective date of the standard (see the LGMS page), even if this means an early recertification against COP. 

Where a member has a fully separate entity handling only LGMs it may be possible for a standalone audit to be conducted against the LGMS and separate certificate to be issued with an expiry aligned to the existing COP 2019 certificate. Please contact the RJC to find out if this applies. 

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All members with lab-grown materials in scope will need to have booked an audit within the relevant implementation period for LGMS. This will be 12 months from the effective date of the standard (which will be communicated soon), even if this means an early recertification against COP. 

Throughout the year we will have a number of webinars planned to support members with the implementation of the 2024 Code of Practices standard, 2024 Chain of Custody standard, and the new LGMS. Keep an on your Member Portal and ensure you’re signed up to the RJC newsletter for details of these events.