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Despite two decades of trying to clean up the reputation of the sector, the world's leading jewelry companies find it very difficult to ensure that gold and diamonds they use in their pieces are extracted in accordance with certain ethical criteria, reports Human Rights Watch (HRW).

According to the Organization, although some progress has been made to limit so-called "blood diamonds" linked to various conflicts, brands as well as Rolex, Cartier and Bulgari are unable to ensure that the extraction of their precious stones does not violate human rights. "customers are increasingly interested in knowing that the jewelry they buy complies with guarantees in this regard," he explains.

Juliane Kippenberg, associate responsible for children's rights at HRW, believes that "companies owe it to their customers and communities affected by their businesses to extract materials responsibly and to allow public control over their actions."

El informe de HRW coincide con la preocupación sobre la participación de los niños en las cadenas de suministro globales, sobre todo en la República Democrática del Congo, que alberga grandes reservas de oro, cobre, diamantes y cobalto. En 2016 se vendieron aproximadamente 15.000 millones de dólares de diamantes sin pulir, según Bain & Co, y casi 140.000 millones de oro, según el Consejo Mundial de Oro. HRW calcula que aproximadamente 40 millones de personas trabajan en pequeñas minas, de las cuales 1 millón son niños. El problema es que la mayoría de las empresas de joyas no tienen un control sobre el proceso de extracción del oro y los diamantes en todas sus minas.

Evidence of abuses in the mining of minerals and precious stones has led to calls for a review of the Kimberley process, which was launched in 2003 after it was known that diamond trade had been used to finance brutal civil wars in Africa in the 1990s. "the Kimberley process focuses on diamonds linked to rebel forces; in addition, it does not assign any responsibility to companies," HRW regrets. The group has classified 13 large jewelry companies, which account for 10% of global sales, depending on their transparency. None of them received the highest rating. Only Tiffany was able to track all the gold he extracts and issue timely reports on human rights, which has led him to earn the best note. Bulgari, Cartier, Pandora and Signet received a lower rating of "moderate" for taking some initiatives aimed at responsible follow-up. British Boodles received a lower note, and Indian manufacturer Tanishq was last placed.

Rolex did not get any ratings due to lack of information. Boodles informed HRW that the company has already commissioned a responsible audit. Tanishq and LVMH, the owner of Bulgari, did not want to comment. Neither is Cartier. Pandora claimed to have extracted the gold using companies with an excellent reputation, according to the code of the Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC). Signet claims that RJC membership is a requirement for its suppliers and that since 2014 it has submitted independent reports of gold mining in "conflict-free" zones to the U.S. Securities Market Commission (SEC).