The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ), based in the UK, is pushing for a new status, permitting it to regulate jewellery industry, according to Rapaport.
The company is in state of negotiation to become an official body to be able to regulate participating members and issue its own guidelines that a regional standards agency has approved, the agency cited the NAJ’s CEO Simon Forrester as saying.
“UK local authorities have cut back 40% in terms of their budget for many services,” Forrester said. “Jewelry is not high on their pecking order in terms of enforcement. Public health and social welfare are the priority. There’s virtually no money to police our industry. If we’re to maintain standards, the associations have to do some of the heavy lifting. Our work with [the standards agency] here, I think, will be replicated elsewhere.”
The program will be launched in the near future as soon as the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has given its consent. The agreement will be valid only across the UK.
Victoria Quiri, Rough&Polished