About Transparence S.A.
At Transparence you can buy jewellery and diamonds knowing the source. The team is committed to changing the face of the jewellery industry by offering transparency at every step. We will provide you with a unique passport for each jewel disclosing most importantly where the minerals come from, who designed the jewel and who crafted it, because we think it’s important that you know what you are buying.
Transparence’s selected artisans and award winning designers are committed to respecting the environment, offering fair working conditions to all the people who have contributed to your jewel. On top we offer you a fair value, because we only involve those who add value!
Luxury with a conscience
Transparence is a platform dedicated to ethical jewellery through 3 pillars:
◊Transparence is a network of jewellery designers and artisans who want to improve the conditions in this industry;
◊Transparence delivers ethical jewels to consumers through its online shop;
◊Transparence assures the distribution of designers respecting its values.
Transparence provides transparency, consistency in quality and sets higher standards regarding the environment and social standards. We aim to deliver jewellery which is traced from mine to consumer. Our common long term goal is to reach fair trade luxury jewellery with fair trade materials.
We adhere to the values and principles of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and have been a member since August 2007.
We strongly believe that we can combine ethics with elegance.
We are commited to start acting now and we think that together we can change the face of the jewellery industry.
Veerle Vrolijk-van Wauwe worked 7 years for Procter & Gamble in Marketing and Sales functions mainly in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Veerle worked 3 years in General Management for a leading Sight Holder of De Beers (Company who has the right to buy rough diamonds from De Beers, cut and polish these diamonds and sell polished diamonds to the leading brands of the Jewellery and Watch industry). Veerle founded Transparence S.A. in Spring 2007 because she is passionate and driven to create change in this industry and commercialise diamonds with a Chain of Custody. She strongly believes that if a coffee bean, a banana or a cotton crop can be traced, surely a high value commodity like a diamond can be traced.
Dominique Moser after having worked in a law office for two years, worked with Mr. Lacoste for over 14 years as his Executive Assistant. Lacoste is an iconic brand with a distinguished history, and while working with them she managed numerous aspects of their intellectual property, including the protection of the brand, and worked closely with the board of directors. In addition, she contributed towards the STOP PIRACY campaign initiated by the Swiss Institute of the Intellectual Property in Bern. French is her mother tongue, and she has a good level in English, Italian and German. She is a keen tennis player and during her spare time she has coached children and has been involved in bringing the sport to the disabled. She enjoys travelling, both emerging herself in other cultures and giving her two children the opportunity to discover them. She was convinced by the ethical outlook offered by Transparence and this motivated her to join the team in late 2007.
Kristel Horwood has worked 6 years for Crown Packaging formerly known as Crown Cork & Seal based in the UK head office. Kristel mainly managed projects and was responsible for the implementation of technical solutions for e-business projects and the subsequent rollout, working alongside European Logistics. Alongside her knowledge of Supply Chain, her ability to speak fluent English, French, Italian and Dutch has given her a lot of interesting opportunities. The language and travel bug enables Kristel to communicate with the local people and to understand their business and culture.
Rachel Gasser has been working for the last two years at the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations (CASIN) in Geneva, where she was in charge of entrepreneurship and leadership programmes, gathering participants from all around the world, to seek innovative ways to alleviate poverty. She also designed and implemented programmes for diplomats from Afghanistan, Iraq or DPRK and lead research on global issues. Rachel has experiences with the United Nations both in the fields and at the Headquarters in New York. She first joined UNHCR where she worked in a refugee camp in Jordan in 2005. She was then Adviser on human rights and humanitarian affairs for the Swiss Mission to the UN. Rachel studied at IUHEI, Geneva and at UC Berkeley, USA. She has a Master in International Relations from IUHEI. Rachel is passionate about having all actors participating in building a better world and hopes with Transparence to improve environmental and social standards in business.
Charles Peeters is a 3rd generation diamond cutter and polisher who has over 50 years experience in the diamond industry. Starting his career as an apprentice polisher, by 1968 he was working for Herman Schamisso bvba as an expert in rough diamond sorting and selection. His expertise in un-polished stones was acknowledged when he moved to De Beer’s to advise on their rough diamond sorting, as a consultant representing Herman Schamisso bvba. In 1985 he founded Augelco Company which specialised in the import of rough diamonds from Namibia and South Africa. At this time Charles’ experience in the diamond business was formalised by obtaining his Basic Course Certificate for cutting diamonds with Professor Mark Van Boxstael, director gemmologist institute HRD. In 1987 together with Raoul Delveaux, founder and former general director of HRD, he formed the Delveaux – Peeters Company trading in polished diamonds. In 1989, together with his brother in law Ludo Van Wauwe, he formed Van Wauwe Diamonds nv to purchase and polish rough diamonds. In 1996 Charles obtained the Extended Diamond Grading Course Certificate with the gemmologist institute HRD. To date Charles remains a Director of Van Wauwe Diamonds nv and maintains an active role in the Antwerp based office. Charles advices Transparence, as a consultant, on quality of diamonds and traceability.
Fanny Pauwelyn holds master degrees in economics (with a specialization in development and international relations) from Antwerp and Leuven Universities (Belgium), and earned a certificate in Non-Profit Management at Duke University (USA). She has extensive experience in international aid and development. Fanny worked for the International Red Cross for more than six years where she was responsible for the development and deployment of emergency response units to disaster stricken areas. In 2002, she accompanied her husband to the United States. In the US, Fanny was the co-founder and director of the North Carolina Chapter of the Society for International Development (SID) based at the Duke University Center for International Development.
Back in Geneva since August 2007, Fanny has concentrated on questions of corporate social responsibility and public-private partnerships, thereby widening her interests and network from international organizations and government to the private sector. It is also in the private sector that Fanny started her career, in the mid 90s, in charge of export markets for a major Belgian fashion company, Kipling. While in the US, Fanny also ran her own European designer jewellery business.
Fanny is proud to be part of the Transparence Geneva team. She considers Transparence as a perfect opportunity to integrate sustainable development into a business environment.
At Transparence we want to develop and commercialise ethical jewellery that catalyses the creation and growth of the responsible luxury market serving consumers who care about our planet, our people and our profitable sustainability.
Today we believe it is possible to combine aesthetics with ethics. Today we want with you to raise awareness and encourage sustainable practices in the jewellery business.
Quality
We think that ethics does not interfere with the highest quality that we expect from our jewels. We want to have jewellery that is realized from the top materials by the best designers and all having respect inside.
The respect for Nature and Human beings does not, in any case, compromise the quality and beauty of our jewels.
Respect/Sustainability
We strongly believe in promoting socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
We promote respect of human beings: we treat all individuals with respect from the miner to the consumer.
We work with care to protect the environment: Transparence is paying attention all along the chain of production to have sustainable practices that reduce the negative impact on the environment. Let’s maintain a living planet for future generations.
Conflict Free
We support the Kimberley Process, the certification process that guaranties that diamonds are conflict-free. All our diamonds are purchased with guarantee of Kimberley Process in rough stadium and a system of warranties followed through polishing. Nevertheless, we estimate it as a minimum standard and we want to go further. We want to have jewellery that also guarantees respect of human and environmental standards.
Community/Development Projects
We consider it as our duty to ennoble our supplying countries to add more value locally to the product, to create job opportunities, create skills and alleviate poverty as a consequence.
We encourage projects offering skills development as well as offering opportunities to young and upcoming designers.
◊ Vukani Ubuntu-South Africa (click on the name: profile)
Mentoring Project: Transparence supports an education project and tries to develop viable and commercial propositions for young designers in Pretoria, South Africa.
◊ Bouvard Mounier-Marocco (click on the name: profile)
Community Project: Transparence is mentoring a community project to reinsert mono-artisans into the workforce in Casablanca, Morocco.
Cooperation /Collaboration
We seek to cooperate rather than to compete with most of our partners who share our conviction to produce fair jewellery. This allows us to leverage unique competencies and focus each on our core competencies. Hence Transparence is offering the consumer the fair value we promise.
Awareness/Education
We estimate that Transparence’s consumers need to be well informed to make their choices and we want to give you the correct information about our products. We collaborate also with non-profit organisations to give you comprehensive and objective information about the jewellery industry. We want, in partnership with NGO’s and other actors, to raise awareness on these issues. We believe that through your purchases, not us but you, our customers will drive the future of this industry.
Our promise is to develop high quality jewellery respecting the environment, supporting education and the development of social standards.
- We encourage responsible business practices all along the supply chain
We adhere to the values and principles of the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices and are a member since August 2007. We are encouraged by the increasingly pro-active stand of the industry association CIBJO and their dialogue with the UN.
- We are committed to live up to these principles and standards and put pressure on the industry processes already in place to enable us to realize it.
- We encourage our partners to subscribe to these same values
We do not just take their word for it, but verify ourselves and ask third parties to verify. This is to guarantee that our Transparence promise is a promise kept.
- Transparence adheres to responsible communication practices in all our advertising, P.R. and marketing. We believe we should not only speak about CSR, but most importantly ACT on the values that we all share. This is not easy but the right thing to do
- All this as we aim to deliver jewellery that is traced from mine to consumers
We are a pioneer in the jewellery industry teaming up with Respect Inside, a voluntary social conduct label from the Product DNA Company, leading the way in the fashion industry. Transparence signed up with Respect Inside to allow independent verification of our compliance with laws, codes of conduct, ethical codes and corporate charters. We would like you to have jewels that you can trust.
- We are mentoring development projects and we strongly believe in our common responsibility to support initiatives to ennoble our supplying countries and to participate in the alleviation of poverty in mineral rich countries.
- We are committed to respect the environment: We work in a healthy office, build with natural materials, non-toxic paints, respecting old construction methods. We first reuse and then recycle to a maximum our waste and we minimise our use of paper: when we use paper we use recycled or FSC paper products. We are conscious about the carbon footprint (e.g. choice of our transport, encourage carpooling, use of public transport). Finally we demand our suppliers and manufacturing partners to incorporate responsible practices and respect our environment.
TRANSPARENCE IS CUSTOMER SERVICE FOCUSED
- We advise all our clients as we do our closest friends, giving them full information on the product they wish to buy and helping them to choose fair value.
- We value and respect our customers and we aim to offer distinctive collections from committed artisans and create exceptional products that are always unique.
- We want to produce products that meet the needs of the responsible consumer. You care, therefore we care.
- We aim for excellence in everything we do; therefore we strive for top satisfaction from our customers. Transparence also guarantees a right to return for standard items.
TRANSPARENCE ACTS AS A TRUSTED PARTNER WITH ALL ITS SUPPLIERS
- Our suppliers disclose valuable information, relating to their own supply sources and everyone at Transparence takes great care to protect the competitive and sensitive information our suppliers share with us. Therefore you find sometimes “Only disclosed to the jewel purchaser”, when you track origin of your jewel.
- We seek to cooperate rather than to compete with most of our partners who share our conviction to produce ethical jewellery. This allows us to influence and focus on the unique expertise of each supplier. Hence offering our customer the fair value we promise.
TRANSPARENCE HAS ALSO RESPECT INSIDE THE COMPANY - We are passionate about our company, about the work we do and its values are a part of our lives. All Transparence team members adhere to these values.
TRANSPARENCE OFFERS AN ETHICAL B2B PLATFORM
- Selected partners are available on a wholesale platform. Please contact us for more information: info@transparencedesign.ch
TRANSPARENCE BELIEVES IN CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
- Results to date (Nov 2007): all designers and suppliers available on Transparence are committed to our aims
- Other results: Please refer to our “Scale of Achievement” for a detailed view on our results achieved.
◊Diamond Supplier
◊Gold Suppliers
◊Mounting Partner
◊Traceability Partner
◊Community Development- Local Mentor
“Fairness, means knowing exactly what you buy , where you buy and from whom you buy at a fair price” This is what TRANSPARENCE works for, stands for and would like you to reward us for… with your purchase! After several months of a rigorous selection process, we have chosen our diamond partners among the best in the Historical Trading town of Antwerp, Belgium. For centuries Antwerp has been the world centre for rough and polished diamond trading. The very conservative and closed industry undergoes dramatic changes and we have found a few visionaries who are willing to take the lead. By 2010 we aim to deliver only Diamonds which are conflict-free, mined in fair working conditions, cut and polished in fair work-conditions, while respecting our planet, its people and everyone’s profitability. These diamond suppliers are also fully disclosing their product, with independent guarantees where needed. They grade diamonds in all fairness, committed to making it a science rather than an art. This to ensure you buy at the right, thus fair price. Transparence thus can guarantee that our diamonds are a fair value for you too.
RR Diamonds (Diamond Partner)
RR Diamonds is a renowned family owned business based in Antwerp (Belgium), the world capital for diamond trading. For three generations RR Diamonds have been a diamonds manufacturer and wholesaler of round brilliant and fancy shapes. They aim to deliver the sparkle, not the diamond.
RR Diamond prides itself upon the richest of traditions: many decades of solid, wide-ranging experience and self-made success, carefully built throughout 5 generations.
As soon as the noble art of diamond trade arose in Belgium, at the very outset of the 20th century, the first descendant immersed himself into the business. In those days, of course, life probably was harder than diamond itself.
After the war, the diamond trade in Antwerp headed to the top of the world. Soon, the Van Goubergen family found themselves laying the foundations of what was to become one of the industry’s most highly acclaimed companies.
Roger Van Goubergen was knighted a few years ago for his exquisite contribution to the industry and his outstanding record of service in professional ethics, led his trend-setting company into the new millennium. Today, no less than the fifth generation holds the torch.
5 generations of experience in diamond manufacturing!
In the shining crowd of diamond manufacturers and producers, RR Diamond stands out. Whereas 90% of diamond manufacturers chose to specialise in a particular field, RR Diamond chose not to. If we have specialised in anything, it’s in big time manufacturing. Now we are committing to take up the next challenge and try to track the origin of a diamond from mine to consumer in order for it to be a responsible and fair diamond.
“Fairness, means caring for our planet, so future generations will also be able to enjoy its treasures.”
Through our partner Cred Jewellery, Transparence creates demand for Oro Verde gold, which is mined in Colombia by artisan diggers, minimising the use of cyanide and caring for the environment where they mine.
Cred Jewellery - (Gold Partner)
Cred Jewellery is a pioneer in the responsible jewellery sector, and already dedicated for more than a decade to the sustainable development of gold mining. Greg Valerio, Founder of Cred, adheres and is an active member to the Association for Responsible Mining, ARM
As caring people, Cred seeks to minimise its negative impact over the environment. They are working to make sure that the mining of the metal respects strict social and environmental principles. They restore and reforest mined land. They avoid use of toxic chemicals that pollute rivers and they protect marine life and eco-systems.
Their concern for the environment is matched by their emphasis on human rights. Cred aims to improve the social standards of workers in the mining industry. They work to end unsafe practices such as exposure to chemicals that can cause brain damage. They also reject child labour and the loss of indigenous people’s land rights.
Cred passes a proportion of their profits to the Cred Foundation, their sister organisation. The charitable foundation pursues justice for the poor and concern for the environment by directly funding international humanitarian projects.
Transparence is proud to partner with Cred Jewellery and support its international expansion. Our desire is scaling up demand for Oro Verde in order to duplicate the current success of artisan gold mining in Columbia.
Guerci & Pallavidini - (Mounting Partner)
Founded in 1957, Guerci & Pallavidini is a company with an international reputation for the production of mountings for jewellery of high quality. The company consists of two brands - Alex Ball and by Dario.
Transparence is proud to be working with by Dario and look forward to many years of doing successful business producing mounting for ethical jewellery. By Dario is the supplier of manufactured and handmade Italian mountings which are made by experienced and professional craftsmen. He is committed to work with Transparence and, together, we are one step closer to achieving traceability in the jewellery industry.
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Repect inside - (Traceability Partner)
Respect-inside is a corporate conduct label. It is the first international website to provide information about the traceability of manufactured consumer goods and industrial products. It describes:
◊the transparency, traceability and visibility of the supply chain;
◊The measures taken to improve the living and working conditions of persons involved in the manufacturing process, from outset to the finished product.
On this website, companies present the following in a neutral and controlled manner:
◊general information
◊social actions
◊environmental actions
This information is supplemented by:
◊reports by audit companies
◊independent reports by NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
◊Respect-inside compliance reports
The important factor is the measurement of social and environmental progress throughout the supply chain, not just for a particular product or at a single phase.
Respect-inside is governed by an ethical charter that provides:
◊guaranteed conduct;
◊Guaranteed reliability of information given by the companies and posted on the site.
Click to view Respect inside Website
Our current achievement is launching on 9th November 2007 this network of committed designers and artisans who will commercialise their jewellery on www.transparencedesign.ch. We aim to produce custom made jewellery with environmentally & socially responsible mined minerals and diamonds.
Please revisit us and come and see regularly how we have progressed. Thank you for bookmarking this page.
Our Scale of Achievements
Respect Inside Star flakes: our jewellery is rated with 
to show you the level of transparency achieved to date.
Explanations:
The designer is committed to RJC principles
The raw materials and minerals are verified
All partners in the supply chain are committed to RJC principles
The full supply chain operates fair trade principles
The jewel is independently certified fair trade
We aim to continuously increase the number of products with more Respect Inside Star Flakes, and will actively help our suppliers in order to achieve this with us.
