Ethical Jewelry Material Sources

Ethical jewelry material sources are, and will always be, of paramount importance in all of our designs. From a sustainable source for the wood we use, to the fair trade cutting of gemstones, we try to ensure we contribute to positive cycles and do not contribute to harmful practices.

Much Gold mining causes waste, a lot of waste. It can even come to as much as 20 tonnes for a single wedding ring. Not only that, the waste is often poisonous and pollutes water systems. And that is before we get to the dangerous mining conditions for the workers.

Recycling gold can also be, surprisingly, harmful due to the chemicals and waste byproducts it produces. However, all is not lost because there is absolutely an ethical, sustainable and green option for the beautiful gold we so adore in our jewelry.

What we use - 100% Harmony Recycled Gold (branded and certified recycled from the SCS Global Systems) that uses a Green Refining System that reduces the chemical production by 80% to standard refining methods with zero, that’s right zero, discharge wastewater treatment (that’s nothing into the air, or down the drains).

This incredible product comes from the undeniably socially responsible Hoover and Strong, the greenest refinery in the United States, and we will be 100% transparent about our Gold source. Always.

We began cutting our own gemstones a few years back. This allowed us to source the stones ourselves, Sapphires directly from the beautiful state of Montana. Meaning that our stones
are the highest level of ethical gemstones possible, as they are found and cut right here in the US and not in overseas factory’s.

We also developed our own process of cutting these stones too. Removing as little material as possible in the faceting and polishing process, so that what remains is a beautifully cut ssapphire in the natural shape of the rough stone, as it was when it came out of the ground or the river bed. You can see our selection of stones here.

The final piece of the puzzle was finding Diamonds that matched our ethics and our aesthetic. Here we turned to antique Old Mine cut diamonds. Ethical because
they were mined and cut over 200 years ago and are all therefore recycled and re-used. And aesthetically perfect, because they were all cut by hand and by
eye, not with modern machines. And therefore, every stone is imperfect and shaped to the original rough diamond, just like our sapphires.

Finally, in summary

If you want to bask in the glow of gold, the glitter of diamonds and the vibrancy of colored stones, then you should. And you need not only be presented with options that include destruction and desolation. There are plenty of responsible sources out there, and the more we use them the more they grow. And eventually, I have no doubt, they will be the only ones left.

Let's all love jewelry for how it makes us feel and the connection it creates to the world around us.

Further Reading

-Smithsonian.com-

The Environmental Disaster That Is the Gold
Industry

-New York Times-

Beyond Gold's Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed
Questions

-BBC-

One year on: Romania’s cyanide spill