Sustainability - is it possible in jewellery?

Is jewellery ever sustainable or even environmentaly acceptable?

This is a really tricky question in the world of jewellery. By definition all metals and natural gems are finite, as resources they are mined, refined or polished. In an industry which spans human history and is currently estimated to be worth over £250 billion per year attempting to be sustainable or even environmentaly low impact has been relatively low on the priority list, particularly for large jewellery manufacturers, however this is gradually changing.

Artisan jewellers, sole traders, designer/manufacturers whatever we call ourselves are leading the way on this and have been for some time. This is almost certainly as jewellers like me are focused more on what clients are focused on than manufacturers who can churn out pieces and hope someone buys them.

So what do I mean, sustainable or low environmental impact?

One of the key values I hold my jewellery business to is having a small carbon footprint, and limit the use of resources which have damaging impacts on the environment.

One of the main reasons I felt this was important for my business, when I set it up, was I used to work in a role for an industry which had almost complete disregard to the enviromently impact of long haul travel, so in part this aim is trying to make a significant impact going forward.

So, is the jewellery business ever sustainable? I think it is, whilst there are vast diamond and gemstone mines in the world, these tend to be owned and operated by the large companies. The gemstones I use are sourced predominantly from smaller mines, most of which tend to be artisanal, for example most of the sapphires I use are from the Australian parti sapphire fields, these were seen as poorer quality sapphires for a long time as they are not the traditional blue, they tend to be a mix of blue, green and yellow as a result they command lower price but also lower demand so the mining is not as intense. The same is true of most of the other stones I use.

I rarely use diamonds, however when I do I either try to use salt and pepper diamonds, old cut diamonds (which generally are recycled) or ones from mines in places where there is a significant emphasis on the environment, such as the Canada diamond fields. These may have a slight price premium compared to South African/Russian diamond supplies, however I feel that this is acceptable as they have significantly better environmental/ethical standards. They are all laser marked and certificated to show they are CanadaMark Diamonds. If you have a specific desire for a particular cut/size/colour please contact me through the enquires@iainsainsbury.com.

What I tend to use instead of diamond is Moissanite, this is a naturally occurring form of silicon carbide. It was discovered by Prof Henri Moissan in a meteorite crater in 1893, but it is now artificially produced in labs. Lab grown crystals are much lower in environmental impact than mined crystals. moissanite has similar optical properties to diamond, but whilst it is similar it does look different, diamond still have the most “fire” of any brilliant cut stone. Lab diamonds (as well as emeralds, rubies and sapphires) are also an option if the client wants a diamond without the mining element, again for these please contact me via enquires@iainsainsbury.com

In addition to using lower environmental impact stones and those which are less frequently used/commercia I use stones which may be very slightly imperfect, either in cut or in inclusions, etc. This can add interest to a stone, creating extra sparkles or different light refraction, however in the high street jewellery trade this would not be acceptable, as a result these stones tend the be discarded, I like to use these stones when I find them, again reducing the waste in the industry. Most of the opals I use have gorgeous fires yet their shape is not perfect or they might have slight crazing or other imperfections, this to me makes them more interesting, again reducing stones which would have otherwise been wasted.

So what about precious metals?

This is an area when the industry really can make big changes, historically all gold and silver was new mined and refined and used. Indeed many jewellery houses would not use recycled gold for a long time. Mining precious metals is fraught with environmental risks and challenges, acid mine drainage, heavy metal leeching, potential cyanide spills all impacting groundwater and soils surrounding mines, leading to impact on the health of miners, their families and nearby populations. In addition mining and the associated heavy industry is both directly and indirectly related to significant greenhouse gas release.

Only in the past year have the main supplier I use for bullion, Cooksons, has moved entirely to recycled gold and silver. However as I was reading around and thinking about this article I came across the arguments for traceable recycling and traceable mining. When is recycled as sustainable as it possibly can be? Recently I came across AgAIN recycled silver, this is new brand of recycled silver, produced entirely through recovering and recycling the silver from old medical X-rays into silver for the jewellery trade. This is an innovative way to produce recycled silver, helping hospitals make money from old X-rays that would have otherwise ended up in landfills, whilst providing a fully traceable and sustainable silver supply.

Going forward all of my recycled silver will be AgAIN silver, despite the slightly higher cost.

But what about gold? Which is better recycled gold or an alternative option?

For the past two years I have used only recycled gold from Cooksons, however I have recently been reading about SMO - Single Mine Origin gold. I am now undecided which is better.

Recycled gold is freely available, is recycled from a wide range of sources, such as the jewellery industry, old computer parts, etc. However Single Mine Origin gold is a relatively new development in the gold mining world, launched in 2018. It is estimated that 50% of all gold mines are run in an unethical or environmentally damaging manner. The SMO/Betts brand SMO gold says on their website:

“Every ounce of our gold can be traced to mines that are accredited with the highest responsibility standards. These mines provide vital social, environmental and cultural support to local communities. The SMO QR code shows customers where their gold was mined, the journey it has taken, and the positive impact it has made along the way.”

So rather than using gold that has been recycled they are selling gold. that has been mined from one of a selection of small mines, which uphold the highest standards in both welfare and environmental conditions. Every ounce of gold can be trace via QR code to the mine of origin, in addition using the QR code it is possible to track the impact that the mine sales have had on the communities that mined it.

So is this better than recycled?

I am still not sure….whilst the concept of low environmental impact, ethical mining and effective support of the surrounding communities removes significant hurdles to “fresh” mined gold, it still removes a finite resource from the environment.

For the vast majority of my work I will continue to use recycled gold, however if people want new gold I think I will only be buying SMO gold from Betts.