So Brilliantly Birmingham has come to an end but not before a great talk on ethical jewellery was held. The talk, titled “Jewellery Ethics; Making and Buying” didn’t seem to stick to what it said on the tin but in this case, that was not necessarily a bad thing.
Brilliantly Birmingham poster
Even before anyone began talking the line-up was like a who’s who of ethical celebrity. On the panel was Vivien Johnston the founder of ethical company Fifi Bijoux, Jack Cunningham the Head of Birmingham’s School of Jewellery , Sara Preisler a Birmingham
Each gave a lecture on their backgrounds, interests and how and why they are interested in ethics before a question session was opened up to the public. Vivien Johnston spoke about how she took ethical practices into account when considering her business plan as she set Fifi Bijoux up. We here at Opulent Ethics think that considering our ethical beliefs as we set up our business rather than as an add on at a later date is integral to being a successful ethical jeweller and we hope that this business advice will stand us in good stead when Opulent Ethics is fully set up.
Fifi Bijoux bangle
Fifi Bijoux is an aspirational brand which encourages its consumers to buy into their story. Having spent time sourcing materials for another company Vivien Johnston was determined that all materials used in Fifi Bijoux’s pieces would be traceable, of a high standard and have a chain of custody which can be validated. Ms Johnston founded the British Ethical Jewellery Association as a way of forcing ethics in jewellery into the mainstream.
Jack Cunningham played devil’s advocate by talking about how the jewellery industry as a whole is the dirtiest industry going and that all jewellers know this. Opulent Ethics felt that this was an interesting point which deserved to be made and, coming from a jeweller who is not yet ethical, it reiterates the fact that ethics as an issue is rising and soon, no-one in the industry will be able to shy away from it.
Next, Sara Preisler went on to discuss what beauty is. Obviously the answer to this is personal to us all but Sara Preisler made a very interesting point about why beauty surrounds preciousness and asked who decides gold and diamonds are precious? She went on to suggest that, by individual jewellers and consumers moving away from bling then we may make a change in how materials are considered. Opulent Ethics are currently experimenting with this idea by using vegetable ivory in their next range. We will let you know how we get on!
Sara Preisler cufflinks
Finally, Greg Valerio spoke very passionately about how the Fair Trade movement is a good economic response to social injustice and that, whilst being helpful, recycling is not the full answer. Greg Valerio made a very interesting point about how the jewellery industry is very good at producing beautiful items whilst hiding the horror which is experienced at source. It led Opulent Ethics to think about what impact there would be on consumer opinion if we knew in detail about the destruction and terror which allows our jewellery to be produced. Opulent Ethics are now more determined than ever to be 100% ethical in our practices.
He also went on to talk about the Fair Trade Gold Hallmark which will be released in February (for Valentines Day) and how this is a massive step forward as there are now clearly defined standards which can be downloaded from the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation website. He also spoke about the plan to have 25 tonnes of Fair Trade gold sold in the UK
So the overall message from this Brilliantly Birmingham talk is that ethical jewellery now has the start of a fairy tale story which can and will be pushed forward. Fair Trade gold is going to be all over the place in the run up to the release of the Hallmark so watch this space for more information.
So Happy New Year and that’s all for now….
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