“Working with gems in their purest form means removing the polished ‘bling’, leaving you with the ‘rock’,” explains Small. Uncut stones, especially diamonds, give off a softer natural light and shapes that have been created by nature over thousands of years, not just cut with a blade. Pippa Small works with a cooperative in Bolivia that mines ethical gold as pure as 24 carat devoid of untraceable alloys and is therefore much softer and more malleable to make jewelry out of.
Published 23:15, September the 2nd, 2009
BIO-FRIENDLY BAUBLES
How the jewelry industry is striving for humane practices
“Working with gems in their purest form means removing the polished ‘bling’, leaving you with the ‘rock’,” explains Small. Uncut stones, especially diamonds, give off a softer natural light and shapes that have been created by nature over thousands of years, not just cut with a blade. Pippa Small works with a cooperative in Bolivia that mines ethical gold as pure as 24 carat devoid of untraceable alloys and is therefore much softer and more malleable to make jewelry out of.
Jewelry is a luxury business. As an industry that has always been linked to exploitation, from the workforce to the stones and metals used, getting people to think “eco” is a difficult task.
Gems are small, and their value is huge in proportion to their size. Because they are easy to transport and therefore easy to smuggle, the jewelry industry has often had connotations with conflict and violence. However, bringing benefits to local communities through employment, training and business opportunity could turn the industry around.
From global to local
Pippa Small’s jewelry craft spins across the globe. In Afghanistan she supports the teaching of traditional skills for livelihood, and in Bolivia promotes ethical gold mining.
Choosing to source locally from places affected by poverty and bursting with untapped skills is not a fantasy. Many places have strong traditional skills and design, only they find themselves threatened by lack of demand. Promoting community development via skill revival and preservation across Asia, Africa and South America should be a long-term goal and vision.
Another school of thought, supported by Solange Azagury-Partridge, a London based luxury jewelry designer, is that being such a high-end product in westernized nations, jewelers in countries including the United Kingdom, France and the U.S. must avoid outsourcing. “I make sure that I use local workers. If everyone outsourced, what jobs would be left in, say, the UK, in the jewelry industry?” muses Azagury-Partridge.