You will know an RJI jeweller by its distinctive blue white and gold emblem. The organisation was founded in Cork in 1966 by a group of jewellers under the leadership of Douglas William Loane, and the past 40 years have seen the membership of RJI grow to in excess of 120 members, across the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. It's current President is Eileen Moore of Moore's Jewellers, who has five shops across Cork.

"From the public's point of view, they will know that an RJI jeweller is a specialist jeweller and that he or she adheres to a professional standard, " she said. "But they will know that the jeweller in question is there for the long-haul - which is important, because jewellery is purchased for the long-term. In many ways, the older a piece gets, the more valuable it becomes, so it is useful to be dealing with a person who will be there for years to come."

From a jeweller's perspective, not only can independent retailers draw comfort from a network of other professionals, but they can also obtain some valuable information which would otherwise be unavailable in Ireland. Indeed, RJI runs a number of specialist programmes, from diamond identification to jewel courses and even technical courses in such areas as watch repair and battery replacement.

"This is mostly information and knowledge that it only available within the trade, " said Moore. "We have highly qualified gemologists as trainers, as well as other trainers with huge amounts of experience and knowledge."

In addition, in 1997 RJI launched its Registered Valuer Scheme, following which several of its members received certificates of competence to allow them to carry out valuations.

The overall aim of RJI is to encourage its members to be specialist jewellers with professional standards, but also to be conscious of the needs of the public. With a long tradition for excellence in jewellery design, RJI members are ever conscious of customers' changing tastes, and by sourcing designs from Irish and international jewellery and watch suppliers, they ensure that they always have something new and exciting with which to tempt an increasingly discerning public.

RJI is affiliated to the National Association of Goldsmiths in Britain with which it has strong links. It is also a member of ISME and is affiliated to Crest Ireland Ltd.