Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) Appoints Melanie Grant Executive Director

ComplianceSustainabilityPolitics

The RJC has announced the appointment of writer and journalist Melanie Grant as the new executive Director of the organization. After several changes in the 2022 fiscal year, Grant’s appointment to the position represents the 3rd of such occurrences in under 12 months.

Executive director Iris Van der Veken resigned shortly after the conflict in Ukraine began, with a debate over the membership of Russian miner Alrosa allegedly causing discord among some of the group’s key members.
RJC chairman John Hall was then appointed interim executive director in April following the resignation of Van der Veken.

Grant now replaces Hall with this recent appointment. 

Grant has worked as a journalist for over 20 years, writing at London-based newspapers The Times, the Financial Times, The Independent and The Guardian. The new Executive Director is also the author of Coveted: Art and Innovation in High Jewellery which was published and released in 2020.

In addition to her deep media background, Ms. Grant also has curated for Sotheby’s, TEFAF Maastricht and The Serpentine Galleries. She guest-lectures at Central Saint Martin’s and The Royal College of Art; writes for Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Goldsmiths’ Company and The Natural Diamond Council; and speaks at The Science Museum, The British Museum, The MFA Boston and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She sits on the boards of New York Jewelry Week, The Black in Jewelry Coalition and The Copenhagen Commitment, an NGO dedicated to ethical transparency.

“Sustainability is the greatest single issue facing watches and jewellery today, and I want to help everyone understand what they can do to be part of this movement,” she said. “I feel privileged to have been selected for this monumental task.”

According to the RJC’s website the organization has 1,700 members in 71 countries as of January 2023.

 

Source: RJC
Photo Credit: Courtesy of RJC