'Tis the season of
weddings,
colours,
tears and
glamour. The "
ring" is an integral part of any union. It requires a lot of
wallet searching. Sophie McBain(
@SEMcBain) gives us tips on how to source an "
Ethical Engagement Ring".
Two years before we got engaged, I dragged my boyfriend David around the swankiest jewellers on
New Bond Street, forcing him to pretend to be my fiancé so I could quiz jewellers on blood diamonds and illegal
Burmese
rubies. I wanted to research this for a piece (in the end it wasn’t
published) and was horrified by how some of the most well-established
names in the jewellery industry weren’t able to answer my questions
about where their gold, diamonds and gem stones came from, or how they
were mined.
So when David proposed with a ring (a ruby set in diamonds) from ethical, fair trade jeweller
Ingle & Rhode,
I was impressed with his thoughtfulness, not to mention his wiliness —
he spent five months designing the ring in secret before surprising me
with it— and I’m touched he remembered how important it was to me that
the ring was ethically sourced.
It’s something I feel really strongly about – and I know others do, too – so I asked
David Rhode, director of Ingle & Rhode, for his advice on sourcing ethical
engagement and wedding rings.
(You could also use this to nudge a special someone in the right
direction – there must be more subtle hints than forcing your boyfriend
to pose as your fiancé while you investigate the diamond trade.)
Ethical
engagement rings from Ingle & Rhode. Gemstone rings start from
£1,200 and diamond rings start from about £1,500 (both prices include
VAT)
Gold
Metal mining can be
environmentally damaging, and miners are not always granted a fair wage
or adequate health and safety provisions. One way around this is by
ensuring your ring is made out of recycled (ask your the jeweller) or
fair trade gold (
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/gold/ fair trade gold will be certified and should have a stamp on it)
Diamonds
The film
Blood Diamonds raised awareness of how the diamond trade has fuelled conflict, but this isn’t the full story. Following the
Kimberley Process,
so-called blood or conflict diamonds should no longer be on sale
anywhere (although its effectiveness has been questioned), but even
non-conflict diamonds may use dangerous and environmentally damaging
mining methods and be mined by under-paid workers. There are no fair
trade African diamonds yet, but
Canadian diamonds are a good bet (they tend to be 5-10 per cent more expensive than African diamonds.)
Coloured gems
Just
as with diamonds and gold, gemstone mines can be dangerous places, with
reports of poor wages and poor human rights records. How miners are
treated varies from mine to mine and researching this is difficult
(David has clients who have sourced their stones directly from mines
they have visited while on holiday) so ideally, you should ask a
reputable jeweller to do it for you, which brings me on to my next
point...
Finding ethical jewellers
"Fundamentally
it’s all about traceability, it’s about knowing where your materials
are from," says David. "Your jeweller should be able to tell you exactly
where the stones and metals in your ring are from – and vague
assurances about ‘reputable suppliers’ or the ‘Kimberley Process’ won’t
cut it."
Here is a list of jewellers who can offer ethical
assurances - please feel free to post your own recommendations in the
comments below.
Ingle and Rhode
14 Gees Court,
St Christopher's Place, London
Fifi Bijoux
69 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, G1 3HL
Brilliant Earth
26 O’Farrell Street, 10th Floor,
San Francisco, CA 94108, US
Cred Jewellery
41
South Street, Chichester, P019 1EL
Ciao Bellas xoxo
Photo Source: http://www.stylist.co.uk/weddings/wedding-blog/how-to-source-an-ethical-engagement-ring
