Global warming has reached crisis point, so we celebrate materials that are already above the ground. No matter how fairly traded or carefully sourced, newly mined metals expend valuable natural resources. In our current state of climate emergency, it's vital that we slow the rate at which we’re consuming water, land and energy. We'll never stop supporting artisanal and small-scale gold miners, because their livelihood is legitimate - but it's time to start striking a conscious balance.
It's important to address how 'recycled gold' has become a greenwashing device in recent years, used by some as 'the silver bullet to claim responsible, eco-friendly, zero carbon, conflict-free and even ethical practices'. [Alliance for Responsible Mining] Often, the environmental benefits of recycled gold are overstated, particularly since objects like old jewellery, coins and gold bars cannot truly be considered waste in the first place if they were never destined to be trashed anyway.
As yet, there is no universal definition of 'recycled gold,' which enables this exaggeration of environmental claims and loopholes that allow problematic gold to enter legitimate supply chains.
We support the movement towards a standardised definition of 'recycled gold,' greater due diligence in gold supply chains and greater honesty from brands like us when discussing our recycled gold, how it's sourced and its environmental impact.
As we mentioned before, it can be tricky to verify the source of a reclaimed material. Unlike other many other jewellers, however, we know that our recycled metals come directly from 100% recycled sources.
We use 100% recycled gold in all of our recycled gold jewels.
We use recycled platinum in all of our platinum jewels. We can successfully recycle platinum up to 100% recycled purity, with our recycled platinum never containing less than 90% pure recycled platinum. If you'd like to learn more about our recycled metals and the process by which they come about, please don't hesitate to reach out.