Eco-responsibility and certifications in jewelry and costume jewelry
This article is important to assert awareness and to provide information and clarity on the vision of the profession in the years to come,
Conventional gold mining
Gold mining - photo credit © WWF-Canon / Zig KOCH
To extract 20 grams of gold, it takes 50,000 liters of water, 150 liters of gasoline, 18 kg of sulfur oxide, or 415 kg of CO2.
The working conditions of miners are deplorable.
Between corruption, exposure to products with serious consequences for their health and extremely precarious living conditions, it is a real This is a social and environmental crisis.
Today, only 10% of gold is produced in small-scale artisanal mines.
Now, near 60% of consumers say they are willing to pay more to buy ethical gold. It's quite simple, demand exceeds supply
Alternatives to conventional gold
The Responsible Jewellery Council, RJC , guarantees that the gold does not come from any conflict zone (“ conflict free ”) and that it is extracted, transported and marketed according to practices that respect people, the environment and social rights.
- Recycled gold : it is simply gold that has already been used (in jewelry or in certain industries), and which is reshaped to create a brand new piece of jewelry. Although chemicals are required in the process, the environmental and social impact of recycled gold is much lower than that of newly mined gold.
- Gold labeled Fairmined or fair trade : this certification label is awarded by the AMR ( Alliance for Responsible Minings ) to autonomous and artisanal mining communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This extremely demanding label is the guarantee of gold extracted in compliance with the working conditions and ecological standards that it imposes. To find out more, the ARM website
The CoC , set up by the RJC , certifies the good practices of players across the entire supply chain and value chain.
CoC: Chain of Custody Standard
Some video links on
Ethical gold
https://www.veracash.fr/blog/or-propre-et-ethique-est-ce-possible/#label-fairmined-fairtrade
Gold mining
https://youtu.be/x9tujSY_QHk?si=kwTFc4G4mhLdwM7J
The consequences of gold mining
Gold mining is one of the most polluting activities and requires large quantities of ore for low results. Extracting 1 gram of gold generates more than two tons of mining waste and requires chemicals to separate the gold from other minerals.
The largest gold mines dump up to 1,900 tons of cyanide into the environment each year. These practices pollute rivers and destroy entire ecosystems, provoking the anger of the indigenous populations who depend on them, in complete disregard for their rights.
Knowing that to date there is enough gold already extracted to cover the demand of the entire jewelry industry for the next 50 years, OR DU MONDE has decided to recycle gold by refining it again to restore its original purity, whatever its color.
Learn more about recycled gold
The traceability of precious metals, gemstones and diamonds is a major topic, for ethical and environmental reasons.
For the purchase of precious metals, Doamabijoux obtains its supplies from SAAMP , French refiner whose industrial installations are still on national territory.
The traceability of its processes and compliance with all environmental, ethical and social constraints have enabled it to obtain several certifications, such as the ISO 14001 standard, which relates to the environment, as well as the " Chain of Custody " grade from the " Responsible Jewelry Council", an international organization, a mandatory passport for delivering precious metals to French Haute Joaillerie.
“ Origine France Garantie ” is the most important label of the SAAMP, because it certifies that the ingots manufactured are entirely manufactured in France, following precise specifications and with gold entirely recycled and refined in France.
Certifications and accreditations
https://saamp.eu/saamp-groupe-la-certification-origine-france-garantie
RJC-COC N°0173
RJC No. 1128
OFG AFNOR Cert. 83234
The ethical charter
https://saamp.eu/documents_telechargables/Charte%20ethics%20partenariale%20SAAMP.pdf
Annexes
www.originefrancegarantie.fr
ISO 9001: 2015 No. 2010/38301.3
ISO 14001: 2015 No. 2013/57085.4ISO 17025: COFRAC accredited laboratory No. 1-6407,
scope available on www.cofrac.fr
A conflict diamond
To judge the quality of a diamond , the color, cut, clarity and carat of the diamond have always been used as the four cornerstones of evaluation (the four "Cs", color, cut, clarity and carat) , but in recent decades, another "C" has been added : conflict.
Conflict diamonds, also known as blood or war diamonds, are diamonds that originate from war zones and are illegally traded to fund rebel fighters and insurgencies. The name “conflict diamond” is used to indicate that the trade in these diamonds funds – and ultimately prolongs – conflicts in war-torn countries.
Conflict diamonds are primarily associated with Africa, as insurgent groups in countries such as Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast have all sold diamonds in the past to pay for their weapons and continue fighting.
Not only do conflict diamonds perpetuate war and violence, but the treatment of workers in the conflict diamond industry is often described as inhumane and they suffer from disease, violence and starvation.
For these reasons, the buying and selling of conflict diamonds is illegal.
In 2000, the diamond industry put in place a process to prevent the circulation of conflict diamonds.
The initiative, called the Kimberly Process , aims to trace every diamond from where it was mined to where it was sold, preventing illegal conflict diamonds from being sold on the gemstone market.
The Kimberley Process (KP) brings together governments, civil society and industry to reduce the existence of conflict diamonds (rough diamonds used to finance wars waged by rebels aimed at destabilizing governments) around the world.