The world of jewelry wants to become ethically brilliant

Dans le prêt-à-porter, on ne compte plus les initiatives écoresponsables. Entre l'abandon de la fourrure par le luxe ou la multiplication des marques vegan, les choses bougent petit à petit dans le marché du textile, deuxième industrie la plus polluante au monde. Il n'était donc qu'une question de temps avant que cette vague green se propage dans les autres domaines. Dernièrement, c'est la joaillerie qui s'est vue chamboulée par des actions éthiques et écologiques.

In a world where the image of the extraction of gold and diamonds fascinates as much as it has shocked for decades, some claws have decided to change things.First of all with an increasingly common recourse to recycled gold in place of mining gold."It is recovered as well thanks to old jewelry that we are going to melt that in the electronic sector, which represents two-thirds of industrial gold demand," explains Stéphane Wulwik, founder of the young Innocent Grifte Stone.

More transparent traceability

After having been for fifteen years a stone merchant, he discovered during a trip to Antwerp three years ago the culture diamond."I created the brand at the end of 2016 to in turn try to shake up the originally very protectionist diamond market," he said.A view of an eye, impossible to distinguish a difference: these artificial stones respond to a high -tech process reproducing the natural formation of the stone.An alternative that seduces both market players and consumers since it allows more transparent traceability and offers a gem between 30 and 40 % cheaper than competitors.It is also the idea of associating gold recycled with a synthetic diamond which pushed Manuel Mallen to imagine Courbet.

After a sharp experience acquired at Richemont, Piaget or Poiray, he embarked on the adventure of ethical jewelry a little over a year ago: "The most important for me was to reduce the ecological impact as much as possibleMy business on earth.I use gold already extracted and culture diamonds."Beyond raw materials, it is the supply chain that Courbet has decided to improve.The claw has been collaborating from the start with an American laboratory working with solar energy and presents its jewelry in recycled leather writers, folded in origami to avoid the use of glue.

"Fairminded" certified mines

Eco -responsible jewelry is also in depth reforming a sector employing nearly 60 million people in more than 50 countries.Mining gold why not, but it must imperatively meet ethical, ecological and social standards.Two options are then possible.Choose an artisanal mine with a low ecological impact, where the working conditions of minors must be improved.Or opt for an industrial mine, whose workers are certainly more protected, but with a more controlled soil impact.

The first strategy was chosen by Jem, a Parisian brand that has just opened its first shop near Vendôme Place."From the start, we chose to use 18 -carat gold sourced in 'Fairmined' certified mines", explains Dorothée Contour, founder and CEO of the.This label, founded by the NGO Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), guarantees the engagement of the mine in a process of transformation towards an eco -responsible progress.

Transform the system

"We want to transform the system in order to eradicate all economic operations, corruptions, human rights abuses, child labor and health risks.This charter takes these issues into account, "she adds.At Mené ("account unit" in Aramaic), Roy Sebag opted for industrial mines: "It is the best way to change things: go to the heart of the reactor to transform it in depth."The idea of this 33 -year -old American is simple: restoring gold as a real investment.

Alongside Diana Widmaier Picasso, granddaughter of the painter and artistic director, he builds a claw offering gold and pure platinum jewelry."In addition to using a 24-carat gold, we wanted to reduce the margins as much as possible by setting up a transparent price system, based on weight, the course of metal and the 15 to 20 % dedicated to design", explains-he.But these entrepreneurs are not the only ones to look at eco -responsibility.

At LVMH, 98.5 % of diamonds purchased in 2017 were certified by the Responsible Jewelery Council (RJC), an entity created in 2005 by fourteen players in the sector, including Cartier, around an ethical charter.Ditto at Kering: "In four years, we have increased to more than 70 % responsible gold.I sit on the RJC standards committee, where we are working on the integration of silver and color stones in the code of practices, "says Claire Piroddi, in charge of Sustainable Development Projects Watchmaking and Jewelry of the Group."At workshop Swarovski, we imagined a line from responsible materials.A first step towards a large -scale change ", according to Nadja Swarovski, image and communication manager.

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