De-coding Traceability and Responsible Sourcing in Diamonds, Gemstones and Precious Metals
The Journey of Jewellery
*Main image: 2013 Jessica Evans/Human Rights Watch
It’s no secret that the diamond and gemstone industry have a murky history. Everyone has heard of blood diamonds, and the environmental and social impacts of mining is well-documented. And while in the past people have adorned themselves with these rare and natural beauties anyway, the tide is now turning. Consumers are starting to ask questions and demand transparency to ensure that they are buying into something ethical and sustainable. Retailers must now have the answers if they are to compete. But these answers are often not clear cut, with traceability and accountability in the industry lagging behind. We dive into the world of fair trade, fair mined, certifications and provenance challenges that the industry faces to help shed a little light on all that glitters.
Mining
The first hurdle is the basic fact that precious metals, diamonds and gemstones have to be mined. This has an enormous impact on the environment polluting air, water and soil, devastating habitats, and scarring the earth. On the social side, the conditions can be brutal (particularly in developing countries). Local people have been known to be forcibly displaced, there have been reports of human rights violations and the health of the community is often affected by the pollution seeping into their land, air and water.
To further complicate matters there are two types of mines; large scale mines (LSM) and artisanal small-scale mines (ASM). Artisanal mines are run by local people using small machines or even working by hand. They are typically less regulated, more physically demanding, riskier for the workers and do not have formal support from the government. In terms of human rights, more than a million children work in artisanal mines(1). where they are prone to respiratory diseases, injury and mercury poisoning. Without formal structures and support in place, ASM workers often undervalue their work, are unable to gain direct access to international markets or improve their working conditions (2) making upward economic mobility difficult. That ruby ring isn’t looking so shiny anymore is it? So, let’s stop sourcing from artisanal mines, right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple as these mines are essentially driven by poverty; the workers rely on this work for money (in an area where there are few employment options) and if you take them away then these families will not be able to survive. There needs to be a more comprehensive approach.
Traceability
The second hurdle is traceability. Diamonds and gemstones in particular go on a long journey from earth to your jewellery box. They are mined all across the world, then traded, exported and processed in different countries. Stones are then cut elsewhere and then made into a piece of jewellery in another workshop, before even reaching the retailer. It’s no wonder that after all this it may be difficult to know the origins of the components and what conditions they were produced under, or to believe the answers we’re given if there is little regulation at each stage (2). Even if at the end of the process we can identify the origin and the mining conditions, what about the conditions at every stop after that? Has the material been ethically and sustainably handled at every stage of its lifespan? Not surprisingly, these are very difficult questions to answer without formal structures in place
Responsible Sourcing
So, how can we find out whether the jewellery we have our eye on is made from responsibly sourced materials? Well that actually depends on the material in question. Overall “responsible sourcing” refers to paying a fair price to producers, supporting their work and the wider community, and ensuring health and safety measures are in place along with environmental considerations (2). So with this in mind, let’s break it down into precious metals, diamonds and gemstones.
Precious Metals
Thankfully precious metals are a little simpler (hurrah!). Let’s focus on gold here. Firstly, and most importantly, there are two widely recognised provenance accreditations - Fairtrade, by Fairtrade International and Fairmined, by the Alliance for Responsible Mining. Both schemes include artisanal and small–scale mines and certify that they meet world leading standards for responsible practices, miners are paid a fair wage in safe working conditions, the community is supported and environmental impact has been reduced. Fairtrade and Fairmined allow designers to trace their gold back to the source and these widely recognised symbols give customers confidence that they are buying into something ethical. It helps that 80% of gold is from large scale mines which are easier to regulate. These accreditations offer an example of what is possible in the world of transparency and accountability but unfortunately these accreditations do not apply to diamonds and gemstones. This is where things get a little murkier.
Diamonds
Sourcing diamonds and gemstones is a little more complicated, partly due to the longer journey they take to jewellers bench than gold. That said, there is a growing demand for ethical gemstones that are both driving new certifications and encouraging suppliers to work directly with miners to improve their conditions.
Diamonds make up 85% of the precious-stones market and, perhaps partly for this reason, are further ahead of the game than coloured gemstones and have been for some time. Furthermore, 80% of diamond mining takes place in large industrial mines which are much more regulated than small-scale mines which makes provenance easier to trace. The diamond industry has faced serious criticism over the years. Arguably the most controversial challenge has been conflict diamonds. The most famous of which are “blood” diamonds from Angola and Sierra Leone that were sold to fund civil wars. In 2003 the Kimberly Process was introduced to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the market, and now, according to Feriel Zerouki at De Beers Group, 99.8% of diamonds on the market are certified as conflict-free (4). But ensuring that diamonds do not hail from conflict zones is just the tip of the sustainability iceberg. In 2005 the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) was established to raise standards in the industry encompassing labour rights, social considerations and environmental factors. Founding companies included diamond heavyweights Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Rio Tinto and De Beers. It now has over 1,450 members who have signed a code of practice and are audited by a third party before they can receive their RJC accreditation. Besides traditional accreditations, there’s a new technology revolutionising provenance tracing - blockchain. In 2017 De Beers created “Tracker” to track diamonds throughout their lifetime from rough diamond. The brand’s GemFair initiative does the same for diamonds from artisanal and small-scale mines. Each stage is documented, building a detailed track-and-trace record (4). Transparency is one thing but what about the impact on the ground (literally)? Due to the large scale of diamond mining and the size of the industry, mines now need to counteract their social and environmental impact with a series of programmes to minimise environmental impact, restore the land after use and support the local communities. Thanks to these developments and more, the diamond industry is now one of the most closely regulated luxury sectors in the world.
Gemstones
So where does that leave gemstones? The trail of gemstones is much harder to follow and they always seem to be a few steps behind their transparent partners. This is largely due to the fact that 80% of coloured gemstones come from small-scale mines involving 30 million miners, making formalising the industry incredibly difficult (4). This combined with the complicated journey they take from mine to retailer makes provenance a real challenge. The gemstone industry still has a long way to go but there are suppliers and organisations that are working closely with small-scale miners to provide the industry with ethical and traceable stones. Nineteen48 is one such supplier. They offer a large range of responsibly-sourced, fully-traceable, ethical gemstones from Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Australia and more. Each stone comes with details of its provenance to give both the jeweller and the customer peace of mind that it conforms to the principles of fair trade. Nineteen48 also works with Moyo Gems, a responsible miner-to-market gemstone collaboration in East Africa. They specifically work with women artisanal miners in Tanzania and Kenya to track their gems to market, whilst empowering them to improve their financial security, work safely and create markets for fair trade. Organisations like these are important as we do not want to get rid of small-scale and artisanal mines altogether as they provide a livelihood for so many people and can be less impactful to the environment than large scale mines. So it’s about investing in these communities, empowering the people and giving them a platform to compete on the world stage.
There are also voluntary best-practice frameworks that can be used by private sector companies. Two of the most prominent responsible sourcing frameworks for coloured gemstones are the Responsible Jewellery Council Certification Scheme and the Coloured Gemstones Working Group’s (CGWG) Gemstone and Jewellery Community Platform. Both of these draw on the draw on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict Affected and High-Risk Areas (the OECD DDG). The RJC Certification Scheme expanded in 2019 to include rubies, emeralds and sapphires, having previously only focused on precious metals and diamonds. It covers a range of human rights, labour rights and environmental impacts, with a focus on mining. The Coloured Gemstone Working Group launched the Gemstone and Jewellery Community Platform in April 2021, offering educational and training tools, templates for small business, self-assessment tools and a community exchange. It enables businesses to build systems for due diligence and also to monitor the performance of their suppliers (5).
Going one step further, and following suit from diamonds, gemstones are also getting their blockchain moment. Two innovative blockchain platforms have been launched by the Swiss Gübelin Gem Lab in collaboration with Everledger: Provenance Proof and the Emerald Paternity Test. Provenance Proof, the first digital ledger for coloured stones, has processed more than 500,000 gemstones since 2019 documenting the entire process from rough gem; its characteristics, origins, mine and their sustainability credentials, treatment, cutting and setting, shining a light on more than just the origin of the stone (4).
These actions, whilst necessary for the industry to clean up, take commitment, passion and money from the supplier/ jeweller which can be barriers to making responsible sourcing widespread. This is where you, the customer, comes in.
What can you do?
It is clear that the industry is taking steps to improve transparency and recognise that sustainability is increasingly fundamental to the success of their business. But while we wait for the industry to catch up, what can we look out for when making more considered purchases today? When buying from a jeweller, you can often find information about their suppliers and steps they are taking to ensure ethical sourcing on their website. If you’re not sure, ask. If the jeweller has gone to the effort and expense to source responsibly, they will be happy to tell you. If they haven’t, then you might want to move on. Look out for the Fairtrade and Fairmined accreditations for their gold, if their gemstones come from suppliers like Moyo Gems or Nineteen48 and if they adhere to any voluntary schemes. The other options we haven’t covered here (perhaps a blog for another time) are recycled and synthetic diamonds and gemstones which have much less complicated stories and will be much easier to identify if you can’t find the ethical gem you’re looking for.
The gemstone industry still has a long way to go with no global solution for this complex industry in place. It will involve governments, industry associations and companies working together but important steps are continually being made. If we keep asking questions, keep demanding answers and making considered purchases we can be part of the change.
Photo by Franco Antonio Giovanella on Unsplash
References:
The Rise of Guilt-Free Gems, Bel Jacobs, 19th December 2018, BBC.
Understanding the Ethical Supply Chain, 9th October 2020, The Goldsmiths Centre.
The Hidden Cost of Jewellery: Human Rights in Supply Chains and the Responsibility of Jewelry Companies, 8th February 2018, Human Rights Watch.
The Good Gem Guide, Vivienne Becker, 18th October 2021, The Financial Times.
White Paper: Letting it shine: Governance for Equitable Coloured Gemstone Supply Chains, Graham Lee and Assheton Stewart Carter, 9th December 2021, TDi Sustainability & The Coloured Gemstones working Group.