In the jewelry-making world, we often focus on appearances. The shining metals, the sparkling stones, the smile of the woman wearing them, etc… And, naturally, it’s a magical universe. But it is also an industry in which the resources diminish little by little as gold and silver are not limitless or renewable. Let’s get the scary numbers out of the way: according to the USGS (The United States Geological Survey), the supply still buried equates to 54 000 tons or 16 years of production at the current production rate. We can estimate that 80% of available gold has already been extracted. Oops.
To reduce the impact of the mining industry and to continue to produce jewelry in a responsible way, it is necessary, more than ever, to reuse metals. The good news, this method has been used by jewelers for hundreds of years: the jewelry-making industry was a pioneer for recycling.
How does it work? Each gram of gold or silver that can be reused is carefully collected and stocked to be melted a second time. This metal can be mixed with new metals, so as to not lose any raw materials.
What do we love about this process? Not only is it ecologically responsible, but also symbolic: in one jewelry piece, there can be multiple pieces of gold, that each tell different stories.