Mine with care as mine we must!

This is a quote from David Hargreaves the head of Fair Trade Gemstones, a family run business. As a mining engineer with over 25 years experience in mining development and consulting on diamonds and colored stones within the industry you might not be surprised to hear David Hargreaves say this. It is, however, truer than you might think.

David Hargreaves has helped develop mines in Africa which are now viewed as early examples of fair trade mining practice. As a miner himself, he understands and has developed mines which reflect and uphold his personal principles and, after hearing him take part in the Great Debate at IJL in September we can assure you his principles appear to be wholly Fair Trade and ethical.

No one denies that mining causes massive physical destruction not just from the masses of earth that is removed but also from the chemicals used in metal-mining processes. So, why then, would anyone who is ethically mined be happy with mining continuing?   

In today’s society metals are used in many parts of our lives; decoration, like jewellery, photography, medical uses, as part of the water purification process, in batteries and electrical equipment and as a catalyst to convert chemicals into the plastics we use in clothing, packaging, car parts and toys. So it is easy to see why David Hargreaves believes that society cannot function without mining. So does it all have to be that bad? 

We hear often about the negative impact of mining. The No Dirty Gold Campaign was started by Earthworks to draw attention to the negative impacts of gold mining on the environment and the people who work and live in the surrounding areas. But recently there has been the start of a very small light at the end of a very long tunnel…or mine shaft.

Tiffany, yes that’s right, Tiffany & Co the American design house and jewellery store chain which has been around since 1837 and has its flagship store on the corner of 5^th Avenue and 57^th Street in Manhattan, now sources all its yellow diamonds through its gem company, Laurelton Diamonds, from the Ellendale mine in north-western Australia.

Tiffany has become synonymous with yellow diamonds after Charles Tiffany acquired the most famous 128.54 carat yellow, or fancy, Tiffany diamond which is now on display in the Manhattan flagship store. Only 2 women have ever worn the jewel; Mrs Sheldon Whitehouse (wife of a member of the famous US political family) and Audrey Hepburn in the publicity photos for Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Tiffany Yellow Diamond set in Jean Schlumberger's Bird On A Rock Brooch

Ellendale diamond field currently produces approximately 50% of the world’s fancy and vivid yellow diamonds which are this colour due to the presence of nitrogen within the ground when the diamonds were being formed. So what makes the Ellendale mine preferable to other mines elsewhere? 

Most obviously, the mine is in Australia so all 257 employees receive fair pay and benefits including travel expenses, safety is taken very seriously so medical checks and drug and drink tests are regularly carried out and all machinery is regularly checked. 12% of the work force comes from indigenous groups and both men and women are employed.

No-one was displaced in order for the mine to be started and Kimberley Diamond Company, who own the mine, are putting money into retaining the surrounding wetlands and animal habitats. Environmental staff are consulted with and the only chemical used is sodium nitrate which is safely used in fertilisers and as a food additive.

But despite being good in many ways the mine is still displacing 14,740 tonnes of earth for every 600 carats of diamonds found. That equates to 14,740 tonnes for 120 grammes of diamonds; a massive amount. It is then more shocking to learn that up to 20% of these stones are then not considered good enough for use in the diamond industry. So we are then down to 14,740 tonnes of earth for 96 grammes of diamonds. Those stones which are considered good enough are then shipped to Antwerp for cutting, whereby some of the diamond is cleaved away to facet the stone into something useable before heading for the Tiffany design house.

   

So are the Ellendale and Tiffany collaborative mines and David Hargreaves’ ethically set up mines the best we have on offer? At the minute; yes. Opulent Ethics feel that mining will continue, beautiful stones will be sought after and if ethical jewellers are not to fall behind in the design stakes then sourcing our stones somewhere where we can verify their origin and passage through the supply chain to us is the best we can currently do. Alternatively we can continue to recycle stones from existing jewellery or try to buy from small family-run mines; another minefield in itself!

Bye for now….   

What is ethical jewellery and can it ever be 100% ethical?

You may have heard people say that to be truly ethical would mean not producing or wearing jewellery. Jewellery has adorned the body for millennia indicating social status, wealth or for beauty and this is not about to change now. Here at Opulent Ethics we are of the opinion that jewellery is staying put and the best thing we can do is to change consumer opinion so that those who purchase jewellery begin questioning where their products come from.

To be 100% ethical is very difficult and may even be near impossible at this time so the best piece of advice we here at Opulent Ethics can give is to choose your battles wisely. With our jewellery we began by sourcing UK recycled silver from a responsible source, Cred, whilst trying to keep our carbon footprint as small as possible by using UK gem stones. By using Western sources for metals and gems stones you are able to ensure they are fairly mined.

The ethical jewellery produced by Opulent Ethics uses materials which are obtained from sources that impact as little as possible on the environment and local communities. Examples of our ethical choices include ensuring gems are not from countries where money from their sale funds war or conflict and silver is acquired from a company which recycles industry and left over jewellery silver. In the future, where Opulent Ethics decides to use gold this will be Fair Trade and acquired from family run small-scale mines which use alluvial mining techniques such as panning rather than large open pit mines which obtain their gold using chemical techniques. For information on the impact of mining see the No Dirty Gold website.

Sustainable materials such as wool, woods or seeds are another possibility. Opulent Ethics are hoping to be working with vegetable ivory this year and will keep you up to date on all we find out.

It has become evident recently that artisanal techniques such as filigree are making a comeback in jewellery. Craftsmanship is now very important in design and consumers want to see evidence of these hand skills in their purchases. This is a positive for ethical jewellers such as Leblas who have been trying to resurrect traditional Spanish filigree skills in recent years.

Leblas’ De Blas Tanzanite Ring

Leblas’ collections are produced by filigree artisans in Spanish workshops whose skills have been passed down through centuries of perfected craftsmanship. They also ensure that their pieces are produced using sustainable practices, using materials and running their business in a socially, environmentally and culturally responsible way.

Overall, ethical jewellery should be based on fair trade principles. By this we mean that all involved in the supply chain should be paid a fair wage and they and their environment should not be exploited. You can go as far as ensuring that chemicals used in your studio are less harmful and are disposed of responsibly.

Here at Opulent Ethics we have made our choices as to how we can be as ethical as possible within the limits of today’s jewellery trade. Sadly, these limits mean that it is currently not always possible for our jewellery to be 100% ethical but we are constantly working towards moving nearer to this goal and we hope that one day soon it will be possible. Because of this we feel that transparency is very important as we do not want to mislead our consumers. We are open and honest about all the materials and techniques we have used whilst producing and manufacturing our products and we hope that this gives possible consumers the confidence they need to believe in our products.

That’s all for now….