OUR ETHICS
We are committed to running a sustainable, fairtrade business. All of our jewellery is designed and made entirely in England.
Our production process is a seamless blend of traditional and cutting edge techniques. Combining lost wax casting with modern CAD technology, each piece is also hand finished in our East London studio.
We source responsibly, producing only what we need, when we need, in order to minimise waste, and we collaborate only with partners who share our values. So when you choose to own one of our jewellery, know that you are supporting an entire community of UK based independent craftspeople and businesses beyond our little studio.
Recycled Metal
We have been using recycled gold in our jewellery since 2018. Our recycled gold supplier is based in Birmingham. As a registered member of the Fairtrade Goldsmiths scheme we encourage the option to choose fairtrade metals in our pieces.
100% recycled gold is an environmentally friendly alternative for the precious metal and jewellery industries. Made out of scrap gold from the jewellery, giftware, medical and electronic industries, it has none of the associated human or environmental problems that can sometimes be associated with mining, extraction and production of 'new' gold. Any scrap produced by our workshop is also recycled and reused as much as possible.
Our Production Chain
Being a small company we are proud to say that we know every single person in our chain of production who is involved in the creation of your piece of jewellery from start to finish.
Over the years we have refined our business model by building strong relationships with each link in our very short production chain. We do not work with large factories who mass manufacture, we collaborate instead with independent self employed craftspeople and family run trade businesses, all of whom are based in UK.
Design, prototyping, assembly as well as finishing occurs in house at our East London showroom / studio. Certain bespoke projects, depending on the design required, will be crafted entirely by hand by our team of skilled jewellers.
Our operation is small but effective, and we try to keep our business as locally confined as possible to reduce carbon footprint whilst supporting the local economy.
Certain aspects of production are carried out outside of our premises, see below for a completely transparent look at our production chain.
Metal Casting and Small Batch Production
We work with a family run casting house based in West Sussex, one of the best in the field. When production demand is higher than they can cope with, we may occasionally also work with another casting house based in Kent as well as Birmingham. Keeping production close to home is important to us, as it reduces the need to ship internationally in between stages of manufacture, allowing for greater quality control.
Engraving
For hand engraved and laser engraved items, depending on the style required, we collaborate with a few very skilled London based craftsmen and women. As most of our work is made to order or bespoke, we engage their services on a project by project basis, allowing for greater customisation possibilities and the flexibility to collaborate with a wider variety of talent in the industry depending on the style required.
Stone Setting
For the mounting and setting of all stones, we collaborate with a female owned independent setting studio who we have had a long relationship with. They are an accomplished team of master setters and apprentices based in Hatton Garden.
Gemstones, Ethical Sourcing and Certification
We only use conflict free stones obtained from accredited reputable suppliers who comply with strict international regulations, including but not limited to the UN's Kimberley Process where diamonds are concerned.
Uniting governments, civil society and the wider industry, the Kimberley Process was created to reduce the flow of conflict diamonds around the world. They define conflict diamonds as: 'rough diamonds used to finance wars against governments'. We do not use any such diamonds in our works.
Our natural coloured gemstone suppliers go direct to the source, guaranteeing fair pay and humane working conditions to the miners. We consciously give preference to suppliers who can provide evidence of giving back to the local mining communities. Contributions include the building of water wells, health and educational facilities for the local community.
For more information regarding the potential origin of the various gemstones we use in our work, see our comprehensive GEMSTONE GUIDE
Centre stone quality diamonds (usually those of 0.4ct and higher) will come certified by a renowned independent grading laboratory such as IGR, GIA, HRD, EGL, IGI.
FULLY TRACEABLE DIAMONDS
At the moment Canada is the only country in the world with a well developed diamond tracing system in place. This is however reserved only for diamonds which are mined from one of Canada’s diamond mines. In bespoke pieces, where budget allows for the elevated prices of the sourcing for these stones, we are able to supply fully traceable Canadian diamonds for you to consider.
We are also excited to be able to introduce Ocean Diamonds, a new sustainable initiative providing fully traceable diamonds hand-dived from the ocean.
We estimate that switching to fully traceable diamond options in any quote will increase the total by up to 30%. These options do come at a premium over our standard supply of diamonds, but we really encourage and endorse going for them as this is the only way we can eventually push to make full traceability the norm for all diamonds within the industry.
If you are interested in using fully traceable diamonds in your bespoke order, please get in touch for a custom quote.
A NOTE ABOUT TRACEABILITY VS ETHICAL SOURCING - THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
Please note that by default all generic diamond lab certificates do not state the exact location of origin. At present there is no reliable universal diamond tracing system set up within the industry to allow for this.
This is mostly due to the logistics of diamond mining being concentrated in different places to where the diamond production (where they get cut, polished, etc) actually happens, before they are then distributed all over the world. There is a constant volume of diamonds being mined, cut and distributed at any given time, and with no universal standardised system of tracing in place, it becomes impossible to fully trace the geographic origin of one specific diamond that is already out in circulation.
It is important to reiterate that ethically sourced diamonds and fully traceable diamonds are not mutually exclusive - the fact that the current industry doesn’t allow us the ability to pinpoint an exact geographic origin does not automatically mean that a diamond has been obtained in an unethical way. We are confident in the integrity of any stones we supply.
There is greater demand now for traceability, and the industry is responding albeit slowly. We are seeing positive changes happening within the industry, but these changes can’t happen overnight. There are private companies who have created their own systems to be able to provide fully traceable diamonds, but these tend to come at much higher prices which most clients will find unviable, especially when working with a budget. It will require time and entire nations working together to create a universal standardised system that will one day allow for every diamond produced to be fully traced from mine to jewel.
LAB-GROWN AND RECLAIMED DIAMONDS
Aside from the above options, we can also supply lab-grown diamonds and reclaimed diamonds as options for you to consider if you wish to look into alternatives to natural mined diamonds.
Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds that have been forced to grow in laboratory conditions. The resulting mineral is a clone of the naturally grown version, retaining all the same properties and beauty at a fraction of the value. Like naturally grown diamonds, lab-grown diamonds will also come in a variety of colour and clarity grading. They will come certified by the same grading laboratories who provide certification for natural diamonds.
Reclaimed diamonds are authentic diamonds which have been repurposed from secondhand jewellery. These diamonds will have been removed from vintage or antique jewellery obtained through private sale or auction. Where required they may be re-cut or re-polished to remove signs of wear, but sometimes they are best used as they are (for example, if they only display very light signs of wear and re-cutting would diminish the size greatly).
Reclaimed diamonds do tend to be more prevalent in older style of cuts such as old mine / rose cuts and there is less of a variety to choose from in terms of shape and colour as it will depend on what is out there and possible to reuse, but it is a lovely way to reuse already existing diamonds at no cost to the Earth. All of our reclaimed diamonds will come certified by IGR global, a renowned gem grading laboratory based in Hatton Garden, London.
LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY ON ALL PURCHASES
We offer this as a guarantee of quality and post purchase support with all of our jewellery so you can buy with confidence when you shop with us. With each purchase you will automatically receive this guarantee. Your invoice document contains all details of the materials used in your piece of jewellery, and if relevant to your purchase you may also receive a lab certificate for the stone/s in your piece. We also provide a leaflet with care information on how to look after and maintain your jewellery.
If you have any questions at all please get in touch, we would be very happy to share more information about our processes, or accommodate any special requests you may have concerning your purchase.
