Luxury brands pivot to sustainable jewellery as consumers demand ethical diamonds and gold from big names like Tiffany and Chow Tai Fook
- The global demand for ethically sourced, environmentally sound jewellery is steadily growing and big names have developed deep sustainable jewellery policies
- Tiffany uses mostly either recycled precious metal or metals mined in the US, while Chow Tai Fook launched a sustainable diamond jewellery brand in 2016
A diamond ring can signal joy, love, commitment and, maybe these days, environmental awareness.
Still, while the tide of consumer demand seems to be turning, miners around the world continue to wreak havoc on ecosystems and exploit vulnerable communities.
Meanwhile, there have been reports over the past year of Zimbabweans captured and tortured for trespassing on the nation’s Marange diamond fields, some of the richest deposits in the world.
Many in the jewellery industry, including Tiffany, now refuse to buy any diamonds from mines in Zimbabwe or Angola, regardless of their standing under the Kimberley Process – an international diamond certification scheme intended to reduce the flow of conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process itself has been widely criticised as lacking rigour.