Editor’s Note
This article explores the rising consumer and corporate focus on the provenance of gold, moving it from a secondary concern to a central issue driven by environmental awareness and ethical sourcing.
While jewelry and high jewelry creations are inherently durable, the question of the traceability of the materials used has long been a secondary concern. It is only relatively recently that issues related to the provenance of gold have entered the public debate. This spotlight is the result of increasing social and environmental obligations for companies and a growing interest from customers. These increasingly aware customers have been sensitized by impactful films about gold mining, such as Gold by Stephen Gaghan (2016) and the documentary Dirty Gold War (2015). From now on, gold will be ethical, or it will not exist…
The House of Chopard was one of the first to completely rethink the production chain, from the mine to the workshops, to guarantee 100% ethical gold. Chopard defines this material as:
Initiated in 2013, this journey towards sustainable luxury – to use the House’s terms – appeared essential to Caroline Scheufele, Co-President and Artistic Director, for whom:
In 2018, the House announced that it would use only ethical gold in its watch and jewelry creations. A considerable advancement for one who considers that:
Other Houses have also joined the movement because they were not comfortable with the traceability conditions of conventional mined gold. This is the case of the House JEM, whose founder Dorothée Contour explains that the choice of certified Fairmined ethical gold became obvious after contact with the teams of the NGO Alliance for Responsible Mining.
Recycled gold seems to be favored by a new generation of creators determined to shift the lines. As in fashion, these talents are turning to the formidable dormant stock that recycled gold represents, like Houses such as Vever or Courbet.
explains Maïssa Zard, the founder of Loyal.e. To bring her creations to life, Maïssa Zard opted for RJC-CoC certified recycled gold, a label that offers traceability throughout the value chain.
Jewelers for five generations, the members of the Lepage family have always used recycled gold. The Lille institution regularly offers gold buyback campaigns to its customers to ensure it collects the amount of gold necessary for the production of its recycled gold jewelry collections.
develops Julie Lepage, managing partner of the House Lepage.
More ecological, the communication around recycled gold is nonetheless not easy. Between fear of greenbashing and a deficit of glamour, brand communication is becoming increasingly measured.