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About Us
Responsible Gemstone Trader's Ethos
What is RGT
From our many years of research and experience we have found that the majority of small scale gemstone miners have very little capital and are often forced to sell their gemstones immediately at below market price to meet their family needs. Small rural communities in developing nations often do not yet have the capacity to conduct business on an international scale in a manner that is both transparent and responsible.
RGT recognizes this crippling stuation and understands the need for artisanal miners to be paid upfront for their goods in order to disprupt this perpetual cycle. In order to combat this, RGT's first step is to act as an intermediary, purchasing its goods outright from the miners and traders at a fair market price.
Transparency
All RGT gemstones are logged on the Provenance Proof blockchain. In this way a record is kept of each and every stone's story. RGT has worked closely with both the Gubelin Laboratory and the developers of this technology, Australia based tech company Everledger and is proud to use Provenance Proof as our benchmark for transparency.
Women's Empowerment
Very early on we came to realize that in many of these communities, women are particularly disadvantaged. They often lack confidence and have little access to finance and technology. Even with all their hard work, women are denied access to the best stones which will be the easiest to sell. This often leaves them with medium to low grade and very small gems that are very difficult to sell in today's market.
RGT is spearheading ground breaking new ways of creating value for these often rejected stones. We would like everyone to see the same value that we do in each and every gemstone.
"Small is beautiful"
"Every gem has value"
Together we can empower women to operate in the gemstone industry without the current barriers to their participation. Our goal is to create a sustainable livelihood and better quality of life for women and all those working at the beginning of the supply chain.
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The Future
RGT's ultimate aim is for miners and traders to operate independently in the international market providing responsibly sourced stones. Partnering with Lawson Gems is the first small step in building Responsible Gemstone Traders into a leading social enterprise connecting developing small scale miners and gem entrepeneurs.
Market creation, value addition, skill development and innovative approaches to marketing are all on horizon for RGT. Join us on our first steps towards creating an industry that recognizes the worth not only of the gemstones,but but the value of people and communities that produce them.
Story Behind the Stone
Why Madagascsar?
Charles and Lynda have spent years working with the local communities of South West Madagascar. This film came together after 5 years working within the Malagasy Gemstone industry and gives great insight into our work to date.
Watch as we follow the journey a gemstone takes as it moves from the hand of the miner, to the trader, to the gem cutter, to the jeweller and finially finds its way to the hand of the Chairlady of the Human Rights Commission of Madagascar.