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Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference 2024 logo in blue and green

Save the Date: August 9 & 10, 2024!

Donald E. Stephen's Convention Center | Rosemont, IL

The conference where the international community of thinkers and doers in responsible jewelry gathers.

The 2023 Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference and the Gem Boutique was held on August 11-12, alongside the new INSTORE Show which created greater industry awareness and will help expand our mission of creating responsible supply chains for jewelry materials and production. It was such a success that we will be returning in 2024. Check back for updates.

Couldn't make it to the 2023 conference in person? You can now purchase the replay of the entire event! You'll even have the opportunity to submit your questions to our speakers and be part of the conversation!

In 2015, World Leaders Agreed to 17 Global Goals

We have made progress, but there is still work to be done, and the Goals are more important than ever. The climate crisis. Ensuring no one goes hungry. Human rights abuses. Extreme poverty. Problems of this scale can be overwhelming, but the Global Goals(also known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs) are the solution to tackling them.

Thank You to Our Generous 2023 Sponsors

The Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference would not be possible without the financial and operational support of our sponsors. All sponsorships help us secure visas, travel, and accommodations for our speakers and panelists that we bring in from out of the country. We have all levels of sponsorships available which is an excellent way to contribute to the responsible jewelry cause regardless of business size.

Hill Management Group

Columbia Gem House

Instore

Hoover & Strong

Rio Grande

Rio Grande

Anza Gems

Alucidation

What We're All About

Working to Make Jewelry Beautiful from Beginning to End

Susan Wheeler (left), Founder of the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference

A Roll-Up-Your-Sleeves Conference

The growing attention was exciting, and Susan Wheeler attended several different events, and volunteered to serve on several committees. But she also wanted to do more. She wanted to create an experience that was more immediately actionable. She wanted to bring together voices from across the globe - voices that would directly represent the communities most affected by jewelry industry demands.

So, with no outside funding (and a very supportive husband), Susan decided to host a conference. In the most grass-roots of organizing behavior, she contacted Columbia College Chicago, arranged for a venue and a student population to work with, and started calling friends and acquaintances in the jewelry industry to ask them to jump on board.

The beginning

The jewelry industry doesn't have a stellar record of getting out in front of social criticism. So in 2016, when several industry organizations started putting together meetings, industry discussions, and panels to discuss responsibility in jewelry sourcing and production, it was exciting.

Gem dealers and jewelry designers led the forefront of change in how the jewelry industry connected with people and environments where gems, gold and diamonds are mined. It began one person at a time, sharing information and may changes in their own businesses. But the jewelry industry needed to bring even more players from all places in the supply chain to the table, if it was going to actually change things.

Designer Panel at 2017 Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference
Discussing Mercury-Free Mining Options
Responsibly Mined Gems, Represented by the Mining Communities

Our Mission

To engage everyone in the jewelry industry; miners, makers, professionals, educators, and students. To address all the ways that individuals and companies can be involved in the responsible jewelry movement. To make a difference by making things happen.

Susan Wheeler, Founder

To Our Surprise and Delight


It Came Together!

Trustchain graphic

Corporate Support


Early seed support from companies like Richline and Hoover & Strong helped get the conference off the ground.

Ethical Metalsmiths


Ethical Metalsmiths, the non-profit association for jewelry makers interested in responsible behaviors, embraced the conference from the beginning, assisting with lining up speakers and promoting the event.

State Department and NGOs


The US State Department, organizations like PACT, IMPACT, Fairmined, and Amazon Aid, and educators like University of Delaware and GIA have participated generously.

Reaching Out to the Public

Each year, the Chicago Conference has also reached out to the public, through screenings of important documentaries that address issues related to the jewelry industry and responsible supply chains.

In 2017, the conference presented Sharing the Rough, a documentary that explored acquiring rough gemstone materials from Kenya and Tanzania. In 2018, we hosted the first  US screening of River of Gold, which explores the impact of illegal gold mining on the Amazon rain forest.

The local community was invited to both screenings. Why? Because it's not enough for us to prepare ourselves for social criticism. We must also play a role in being critics and being publicly accountable for our industry.