Vegetable Ivory the new material in fine jewellery?

This week Opulent Ethics have been working with vegetable ivory (real name Tagua) for our new range which will be produced in early 2011. We bought the nuts in their rawest form from Ockenden Timber in Wales and have spent the time since experimenting with what the ivory can and cannot do.

Tagua nuts in their raw form

Tagua nut is taken from the Palm Nut Tree in the Amazonian rainforest. The nuts grow in clusters on the tree and once harvested they are dried for between 6 – 8 weeks. The trees are sustainably grown and reach maturity in between 3 – 8 years. Once the nuts drop to the floor they can be harvested. The drying process leaves an extremely strong nut which can be used with carving, turning, jewellery or figurine production. The material provides jobs for hundreds of farmers in and around the Amazon.

Projects have been established by numerous organisations in the region to bring the nuts to prominence as a way of protecting the already endangered rainforests. By using the nuts as a sustainable crop jobs and wealth are being brought to the area allowing infrastructure to be developed.

So how do you use it and what can be done with it? Emily Richardson is a jeweller who uses vegetable ivory in her 1920’s inspired pieces. She uses the ivory in its natural form and colour, shaping and polishing the nut into chunky shapes before combining it with 18ct gold. Other jewellers who use the material include LeJu Designs who produce colourful jewellery and beads.

So how will Opulent Ethics use it? This is what we are currently working on and we are designing around what we have discovered in our experiments. We know that the material can be carved into exquisite shapes with much detail due to the research we have been doing on Japanese Netsuke carving. Vegetable ivory has been used for many years in the wood turning industry and Opulent Ethics have managed to have some of our tagua turned into cabochon shaped pieces.

 Cabochon cut vegetable ivory

Using exciting laser technology we have been able to cut and engrave the ivory with beautifully accurate detail. Experiments using the laser cutter-marker machine at our disposal has shown us that the best results are on slices no thicker than 3.5mm for cutting and require the laser to pass over the piece numerous times in order to cut through the material. This may restrict our designs somewhat.

 Laser cut vegetable ivory slice

Engraving through the skin of the nut leaves a beautiful, clean line whereas engraving on the ivory coloured inner material leaves some discolouration on the flesh which requires cleaning up afterwards. The lines are neat but the need for cleaning afterwards means extra work which slows the process of assembling the jewellery pieces.      

Carving by hand is a little bit more difficult due to the hardness of the material but is a delight to work with. The material cleans up nicely and can be polished to a high sheen. There is also a lovely contrast between the dark brown of the skin and the pale, clean ivory of the inner.

Overall, Opulent Ethics is looking forward to creating some beautiful fine jewellery pieces using this new and exciting material. We are hoping to use Fair Trade gold and ethically sourced stones within our pieces so watch this space!

That’s all for now. See you in 2011!....

Celebrity jewellery designers…the good and the bad!

There are many celebrities who have turned their hand to jewellery design with varying degrees of success. Lily Allen says that her range of colourful animals, coins and traffic signals stem from items she has seen on her travels and from her passion for Chanel and fine clothing. The fact that her range is on sale in Argos doesn’t seem to fit in with the style she tries to convey.

 Lily Allen's jewellery range 

There are other celebrities though whose jewellery is aimed more towards the fine end of the jewellery market. Angelina Jolie recently revealed her second jewellery collection, this time collaborating with Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels. So what is special about this range? And what makes it stand apart from the ten-a-penny Lily Allen ranges of the world?

Angelina Jolie and Robert Procop

Well first of all, Angelina’s range will not be sold in stores, but through Robert Procop’s contacts. The cost of the pieces is also being kept quiet, suggesting that their price tag will be eye-wateringly high. Quotes suggest that some of the materials being used include emeralds and rose gold and the design of the pieces is based on ancient engravings.

Like Jolie’s first range of jewellery, this range will donate profits to the charity that she co-founded in 2006, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict. In Angelina’s words;

"Every child has a right to an education. And conflict is not an excuse for us to ignore that right. If anything, it is the time that they need it the most."

The charity currently helps over 350,000 children whose education has been affected by war or natural disaster but it is Jolie’s determination to reach more of those in need which has led her to raise money through her jewellery ranges.

Angelina Jolie’s first range was produced in collaboration with Asprey and was based around serpent motifs. This came around after Jolie was given a piece of snake jewellery when she was pregnant with her first child in Africa. The beliefs of the culture that she lived in towards the end of her pregnancy in Namibia believe that the snake is a symbol of protection for both mother and child.

The Protector Collection, which Brad Pitt also worked on, contains, not just jewellery, but also baby products such as silver spoons and egg cups. Whilst we at Opulent Ethics are not massive fans of the range we think that the work being achieved because of it is amazing.

The Protector Collection

So are there any celebrities out there who are designing jewellery that the masses can afford but that is still raising profits or the profile of much deserving charities?

Laura Bailey recently produced a range in collaboration with Made. Not only is Laura Bailey an active campaigner for ethical and fair-trade fashion but she is also an ambassador for the children's charity Barnardos, a supporter of the Hoping Foundation, Comic Relief and Film Club. Her designs for made are based on Africa and its communities and cultures. They are sold through Made and promoted by model Bailey herself.

Laura Bailey for Made

Other such celebrity designers include Peaches Geldof whose successful first collection for Made has led to her currently working on her second with all pieces being made from ethically sourced materials but designed to complement current trends and styles. And, it's not just jewellery; Emma Watson’s turn at designing clothes for People Tree have also got to be commended for their beauty and ethical credibility.

So whilst some parts of the celebrity culture and celebrity designers go against what Opulent Ethics stand for, there are definitely celebrities out there with intentions and ethics that we admire.

That’s all for now….

Have yourself a Merry Ethical Christmas!

A partridge in a pear tree...these cards are printed on paper from sustainable forests by Campaign to Protect Rural England, and come in a pack of 8.

2 turtle doves...this dove brooch is made from sterling silver by Tearcraft.

3 French hens...also by Tearcraft these chicken egg cosies are made from cotton with appliquéd wings.

4 calling birds...this owl from Ethical Superstore is one of a range of endangered species which have to be put together by you from the FSC certified wooden pieces.

5 gold rings…there are many more than 5 gold rings we could mention but Cred’s Hibiscus Filigree ring is one of our current favorites.

6 geese a laying…these Divine chocolate mini eggs are made from Fair Trade ingredients.

7 swans a swimming…using this book, available from Ethical Superstore, you will be able to swim, canoe and boat around the most beautiful parts of the UK.

8 maids a milking…milk, honey, aloe and sunflower oil combine in this luxurious recipe of Burt’s Bees body lotion.

9 ladies dancing…People Tree have an amazing range of beautiful and stylish ladies clothing perfect for going out dancing.

10 Lords a leaping…this Lord MO t-shirt is one of many from SP:UK. This particular one is made from Fair Trade cotton.

11 pipers piping…this colourful necklace, sold through Ethical Superstore is made from Fair Trade resin and brass pipes.

12 drummers drumming…this Djembe drum is hand-made from Fair Trade goatskin for Natural Flow Direct.com

That's all for now....



All you need to know about Oro Verde....

From this (Oro Verde panned gold)...

...to this (Stacey Whale's Oro Verde cuff)

You may have noticed that Oro Verde gold is becoming more prominent in the media recently and that the name Oro Verde is becoming synonymous with feel-good green jewellery. Because of this we thought it was about time we learnt more about all things Oro Verde.

Oro Verde gold and platinum come from the Choco Bioregion which is a 87,803 hectare piece of land that spans Panama, Columbia and Ecuador. The region has a very high rainfall making it one of the most lush climates in the world and the perfect home for the 9000 species of plants, 200 types of mammal, 600 species of bird, 100 different reptiles and 120 amphibians.

Alongside all this diverse flora and fauna live a human population of approximately 3,720,000 made up of multiple multi-ethic and indigenous communities. It is these communities which own the land that the gold and platinum is found on, who mine it and who hunt, fish and farm the land. It is estimated that between 80-85% of the families in some parts of the region are artisanal miners.

So what is artisanal mining and why is it done here and not in other metal-rich places?

The Choco Bioregion is rich in natural sources of platinum and gold. The high rainfall in the area helps wash the gold and platinum from the Andes down into lower lying lands which are inhabited by the Choco peoples. It is this movement of materials via natural water sources that allows miners to find metals in the streams and rivers when panning for or alluvially mining metals.

The region is renowned for its high metal content and has already been damaged by mining pollution and the run-off of harmful chemicals from metal treatment plants. This has been going on for hundreds of years already. So why is this changing now?

The scheme being run in the region; the Green Gold Programme, is fair, sustainable and protects the existing communities rather than the outsider who has come just for the metals. The land which makes up the Choco Bioregion is owned and run by the families and communities who have owned it for generations. This is recognised through a legally binding land title.

The Choco Bioregion came to be in 1999 through an alliance between local mining families who used traditional artisanal techniques, local community leaders who were looking to protect the local communities and those who wished to stop the humanitarian and environmental impact of mining which was being seen elsewhere in the area.

It was decided that the best way forward was to generate a sustainable income through programmes which were self-managed by those who lived there. This was also true of the development which comes with a sustainable income. The region also wanted to protect the amazing eco-systems which are found no-where else in the world.

Oro Verde and the Green Gold Programme support the entire supply chain from miner through to helping develop world markets where the product can be sold. This is an on-going project and is why we are seeing more and more about the programme over time. The thing that is so special about this project though is the way that knowledge is used. Best practice and useful knowledge is disseminated to other communities and things are implemented which will help a specific area. For example, land which is no longer used for mining is replanted using crops which are endemic to the region to ensure that the rainforests survive and continue to flourish but the land is also used to bolster that sustainable income by using crops which will continue to bring in profit. Everything that the programme does complies with environmental and social criteria.

And what of the actual metals? There is a premium of 10 or 15% on the metals dependant on whether they are Fair Trade or Fair Mined. This is certified through a system which started in 2004 when the Oro Verde project began working with the Association for Responsible Mining (ARM). Other partners of the scheme include Tiffany’s, Oxfam and the Fairtrade Foundation. The premium is used to invest in the development of the land and it is the families and communities which decide how this can best be done.

So how can we help? Because of the technique used, artisanal mining could never support our industry's current demand for metals but smaller companies who are committed to the work of this type of programme should definitely look to begin using Oro Verde gold and platinum. We here at Opulent Ethics hope to soon.

For a brilliant film which follows the Mosquera family whilst they mine in the Choco Bioregion where they live click here. 

That’s all for now….    

Putting the CULT into cultural jewellery

We can all think of jewellery from cultures other than our own; there is Zulu beadwork which indicates social status, the protective metal rings worn around the necks of the Karen hill tribes in Thailand and Indian gold which is worn to convey the wealth of a family.

      

Zulu beadwork                                        Karen long-neck girl                                      Indian wedding jewellery

Whilst some jewellery retains its importance within certain cultures, it is becoming increasingly obvious that other societies are retaining their culture in order to attract tourist money rather than as a natural continuation of their beliefs.

Whilst this may be the case, there are numerous jewellers who work with communities and tribes with the aim of reviving and maintaining their traditions and skills. Pippa Small is one such jeweller who was initially trained as an anthropologist. She has worked with numerous big names including Nicole Farhi and Gucci to produce ranges of her distinctive signature rough cut gems and yellow gold.

On a more ethical note, Pippa Small has teamed up with social groups which are renowned for their traditional jewellery making skills with the intention of establishing trade which will benefit them and spark an interest in their repressed traditions.

In recent years Pippa Small has worked with Turquoise Mountain, a scheme based in Afghanistan with the aim of regenerating traditional artisanal skills to supply jobs and to improve the lifestyle of those who have been affected by Afghanistan’s recent history.  Among other things, jewellery was a big business in Afghan culture prior to the Taliban taking power. With lapis lazuli commonly found and metals being easily available within the country, Afghanistan has a long history of goldsmithing and jewellery production.

When the Taliban came to power in 1996 the Afghan way of living was changed with certain traditions, including jewellery, purged from society. When the Taliban left in 2001 the country had been decimated by war and restarting the jewellery trade trailed far behind repairing and rebuilding infrastructure.

Pippa Small worked with traditional jewellery artists, through Turquoise Mountain, using locally sourced materials and traditional techniques in order to bring a range of jewellery to the West and bring awareness of the issues being faced and the amazing craftsmen that reside in Afghanistan.

Pippa Small & Turquoise Mountain Lapis Lazuli earrings

And this model is being followed by other jewellers and designers in other countries with other artisan craftspeople. Leblas’ designer Arabel Lebrusan is Spanish born and retains her roots by working with filigree artisans in Spain to achieve her designs and to re-establish an age-old tradition with great success.

Fair Trade organisations like Made work with small, disadvantaged communities in East Africa with the intention of producing numerous ranges of craft-based jewellery which is then sold through multiple retailers such as ASOS and John Lewis. Amongst many other designers, Pippa Small has also designed a collection for Made.

There is, however, a flip-side to the current trend for cultural jewellery. Over the summer, Opulent Ethics were lucky enough to visit Thailand and meet with some of the Karen Long-Neck hill tribes who migrated from Burma into Northern Thailand due to political unrest. The women of the tribes are best known for wearing metal rings around their necks. We learnt that girls as young as 7 years of age are forced to wear the rings which are worn permanently. The rings were originally intended to protect the women from tiger attacks as they lived in jungles where this was common.

Karen long-neck elder

In modern times though, we all know that wild tigers are rarer than ever before and as areas become more developed the likelihood of tiger attacks has diminished. Also, with increased access to medical treatment it must be well known that the rings may be causing damage to the girls and women who have to wear them. Whilst Opulent Ethics was with the Karen tribes people we enquired as to why they are still worn and sadly, we were told that the tourist money brought in makes it worthwhile.

The people who form the rings and other jewellery worn by these tribes’ people are obviously talented silversmiths so can their talents not be put to other use nowadays? Could the right marketing and/or collaborations be just the ticket needed to ensure that the cult does get put back into cultural jewellery without damaging those societies it comes from?

That’s all for now….       

The price of going ethical

Whenever you tell anyone that you are an ethical jeweller the question most people ask is “how much more money does it cost?” It appears that the world view of ethical and environmental products is that they cost more money. So is this true for ethical jewellery or can we produce our jewellery for a price relative to non-ethical jewellery?

The city view Fair Trade and ethical products in a purely financial way and this should be the way that we also aim to work. Products should be sourced responsibly but in a cost effective way. Mass production is cheaper than bespoke one-off products so it is important to find where and how mass production techniques can be undertaken at a reasonable price and within the a way that fits our ethos.

That is not to say that ethical jewellery cannot be bespoke but the mark-up price will have to be significant to cover other extra costs.

During our time using ethically sourced materials Opulent Ethics has always paid the same price for recycled silver as for non-recycled silver. We source our recycled silver from Cred who base their price on the daily Cookson pricing of silver.

Fair Trade gold is not the same. On average Fair Trade gold is 10% above the gold spot price whereas ecologically mined Fair Trade gold is 15% above the daily gold spot price. Currently, this means that buyers are paying an extra £4 for their Fair Trade gold per gram.

It must be remembered, though, that this additional money is going to do good. It supports the small-scale mines and communities which mine the materials. Some of the money goes towards improving infrastructure, education and health facilities ensuring that the lives of the people who work and live near the mines are improved.

It is possible that some money may go to middle men. So if you want to reduce costs you should ensure that you obtain your products, where possible, direct from the source or from responsible, reputable suppliers.

David Hargreaves, from Fair Trade Gemstones said during the Great Debate at International Jewellery London (IJL) this summer that the future aim for ethical jewellery is to have 5% of the jewellery market in 15 years producing and using 5 tonnes of fair trade gold per year. This is still a long way off but is definitely a reachable goal.

Small designers may not be able to afford to be 100% ethical yet so it is important to ensure that costs of ethical materials become manageable and in relation to non-ethical materials and the hope is that, over time, costs will be reduced and may even become equal.

It is, therefore, important that small designer makers like Opulent Ethics continue to pledge our support for ethical jewellery by working with the materials we can afford and by promoting ethical jewellery to our contacts and customers. Then, hopefully one day soon the costs of ethical jewellery can become more manageable.

That’s all for now….  

Beauty without the beast

Having come across an old article from the May 2010 edition of Professional Jeweller magazine titled; “Green Jewels for a green cause” Opulent Ethics decided to have a look around at the most beautiful ethical jewellery in recent years.

The professional jeweller article highlighted 8 established jewellers who were using ethically sourced Zambian emeralds in pieces designed specially to raise awareness of the plight of Asian elephants through the environmental charity; World Land Trust.

The emeralds used in these pieces are traceable throughout the supply chain from their origin in Zambia to the beautiful end products. And it is Gemfields who are providing this transparent supply chain.

Shaun Leane                                              Sabine Roemer                                        Sevan Bicakci

 James Currens                                  Theo Fennell

Other amazing pieces of ethical jewellery which we love are:

Choo Yilin Jade Bangles                         Leblas Lace Sphere Filigree Necklace

Pippa Small Haematite Tibetan Ring            Jana Reinhardt Diamond Set Ring

Leblas Sequin Ring

  

 It’s great to see that there are amazing ethical designs out there….



Brilliantly Birmingham brings ethics to the table

Brilliantly Birmingham 2010 advert

Brilliantly Birmingham is an International contemporary jewellery festival which is now in its 11^th year showcasing talent and initiating discussion on topics which affect the jewellery industry. Brilliantly Birmingham originated in 1999 as somewhere that local jewellers and talent could come together with a shared interest. Now, in 2010, Brilliantly Birmingham is offering a mixture of exhibitions, workshops, talks and special events.

The reason that we are writing about Brilliantly Birmingham, apart from to help advertise it, is to draw attention to their decision to bring ethics to the agenda. One of the 4 talks being planned during the event this year is “Jewellery Ethics; Making and buying”.

Bringing together Fifi Bijoux (who produce luxury ethical jewellery), Kate Carter (the life and style editor, specialising in ethical fashion for The Guardian), Sara Preisler (a Birmingham based jeweller), Jack Cunningham (the Head of the School of Jewellery in Birmingham and a narrative jeweller) and a representative from the Fair Trade Foundation, this talk is billed as a conversational session offering thoughts and opinions on ethical jewellery matters.

It is a positive development to see ethics being broached by the largest jewellery-specific fair in the Midlands. The talk does, however, sound a little weak in its purpose. The topic “Making and buying” promises some information on how to turn yourself more ethical but it does not sound like the information provided will be particularly new. We here at Opulent Ethics hope to be proved wrong.

The involvement of the Fair Trade Foundation is exciting as they will be having further involvement with the jewellery industry as ethics become more mainstream. Opulent Ethics look forward to hearing what they bring to the conversation.

We are also looking forward to hearing from Fifi Bijoux who has been producing ethical fine jewellery since 2006 and is one of the leading ethical jewellers in the UK. They donate profits to numerous worthy causes in Africa and display their transparent supply chain for all to see.

It is always a positive thing to see ethics being brought to the table at national and international meetings and shows and Opulent Ethics hopes that Brilliantly Birmingham, which runs from November 27^th 2010 until the 9^th January 2011, manages to steer ethics into the limelight within the Birmingham Jewellery Industry and helps keep it there for the future.

That’s all for now….

An oxidising eggsperience

This week Opulent Ethics have done their first bit of oxidising using good old eggs and this got us thinking what other jewellery techniques are there that can be done in a greener way?

The colour left behind when oxidising with eggs rather than liver of sulphur or oxidisation chemicals is gunmetal grey rather than black but we love the finished look. And the technique is so simple you can do it in your kitchen with no need for additional tools. All you need is an airtight, sealable bag, some eggs and the jewellery you wish to oxidise.

There are numerous recipes around with each one stating how to get the perfect outcome but we chose to follow this simple one from “I Dream I Can Fly Away”:

• Finish your jewellery as required. A polished surface will still shine through after oxidisation.
• Boil your eggs for 10 – 15 minutes (the number of eggs is dependant on the size of your piece. We used 2 eggs for a 30mm piece).
• Ensure your piece is dry and place it in the sealable bag. If the metal is wet the oxidisation process will not work as well. Multiple pieces should be placed apart so they do not touch as this affects the oxidisation process also.
• When the eggs have boiled, remove them from the water, dry them and place them straight into the bag.
• Seal the bag with a little air in it.
• Smash the eggs and yolks to release the sulphur.
• Turn the piece of jewellery every 5 minutes for the first 30 minutes to ensure the sulphur reaches all parts of the piece.
• Leave for 2 hours or longer if you wish the oxidisation to be darker. 
• Remove and finish as required.

From this...

To this!

We found that there is only a slight difference in colour between the pieces being left for 2 hours or being left overnight. It is hard to stop the pieces from getting wet in the bag as there is condensation from the hot eggs. In the future Opulent Ethics may try and suspend the piece so that it touches none of the sides of the bag, making it easier for the sulphur to reach all surfaces and to stop any of the condensation from reaching the piece. Also, in future, if we were oxidising multiple pieces at once we would place them in separate bags as the colour change was less in bags with more than one piece.

The other very simple way that anyone can green their jewellery is by changing their pickle. Normal chemical pickle is very corrosive (you may have noticed holes appearing in all your clothes after a day in the workshop) and should not be disposed of down the sink. There are, however, alternatives! Ute Decker has a pickle fact sheet on her website showing the recipe for either citric acid or iodized salt and vinegar pickle. The beauty of both these pickle solutions is that you can make them from easily purchased ingredients, they can be disposed of in a normal way and they are less corrosive to your skin and clothes.

There are further mentions on Ute’s website on how to be more green in your workshop. Other great tips can be found in Art Jewellery Magazine and on The Daily Jewel, a blog by Christine Dhein on all things green in jewellery.

That’s all for now….