Problems / Opportunities
The great thing about Responsible Jewellery Council is that they are building a process of certification right through the supply chain, so it won't just be a question of finding people we trust, there will be independent certification that we are producing ethical jewellery.
They are starting with diamonds, which are the highest value gemstones and so attract the most problems, but we have also been working with our coloured gemstone suppliers to make sure that the gems we buy for your jewellery are sourced responsibly. This means that when Responsible Jewellery Council extend the process to coloured gemstones our suppliers will be ready to be the first to step up and get certified.
We have assurances from all our gemstone suppliers that they are not buying from anyone who uses restrictive labour practices or child labour. We generally use gemstone dealers who travel all over the world actually visiting the places they are buying from, and they are experts in small far away conflicts. The goalposts between what is responsible to buy and what will go to fund something undesirable keep changing, but we have built up relationships with people we trust to keep up with this and to do the right thing.
It's important to us that our dealers do keep using their judgement responsibly and buying from people who are doing a good job in less well-developed countries - your jewellery allows them to feed their families and brings money into communities who otherwise would have very little to keep body and soul together.
We have managed to find a source of fairly traded gemstones, but we are limited as to what we can buy because of distance. We might not be able to source a stone specifically for you, but we could use one of the beautiful stones we already have in a commission for you - just ask us!
