Ethical Sourcing

No piece of jewellery has a perfectly clean story. Mining moves earth and changes landscapes; growing a diamond uses a great deal of energy; cutting, trading and shipping all leave a mark. Anyone who promises a jewel with no impact at all is promising too much.

What a jeweller can do is buy through legitimate, documented channels, tell you what they know about where a stone came from, disclose what has been done to it, and be honest about what they do not know. That is what this guide is about.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme began in 2003 to stop conflict diamonds, rough diamonds used by rebel movements to fund wars against legitimate governments, from entering the legitimate trade. Participating countries agree that rough diamonds cross their borders only in sealed parcels with a government certificate.

It has made a real difference. Its limits are just as real: its definition of a conflict diamond is narrow, and it applies to rough diamonds rather than to the wider questions of working conditions, human rights or environmental care.

Once a diamond is cut and polished, it no longer travels with a Kimberley certificate. The World Diamond Council’s System of Warranties carries the commitment forward: each seller states on the invoice that the diamonds come from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict. The system has since been broadened to include commitments on human rights, labour rights and anti-corruption.

It is a chain of written promises from one business to the next. Ask whether your jeweller receives it.

Since 2024, UK sanctions have prohibited the import of Russian diamonds, including, in stages, Russian diamonds that have been cut and polished in other countries. Similar measures apply across the G7 and the European Union, supported by new tracing requirements in the diamond trade.

A lab-grown diamond involves no mining and its origin is straightforward to trace: the grading report names the growth method and any treatment. But growing a diamond takes a great deal of energy, so its footprint depends heavily on how that energy is produced. Ask where a lab-grown stone was grown, if it matters to you.

Our natural vs lab guide sets out the honest case for each.

Sapphires, rubies and emeralds often come from small, artisanal mines, and their journey from mine to market can pass through many hands. That makes their origin harder to trace than a diamond’s. Independent gemmological laboratories can report a stone’s likely origin and any treatment, which is why a report matters as much for a coloured stone as for a diamond.

Gold and platinum have their own footprint. Recycled precious metal avoids new mining, and certified responsible-mining standards set requirements for working conditions and environmental care at the mine.

Fairmined is one of those standards. Run by the Alliance for Responsible Mining, it certifies gold from artisanal and small-scale mining organisations that meet requirements for safe working conditions, environmental care and fair payment, and it pays the miners a premium to invest in their communities. Ask what your ring is made of, and where the metal comes from.

The stone that already exists. Resetting a family diamond, or reworking an old ring into a new design, creates no new demand for mining or growing at all, and carries a story forward with it.

We design and we make every ring to order, so we buy each stone for one commission rather than holding stock.

Legitimate channels

Every natural diamond we buy comes with a System of Warranties declaration from our supplier on the invoice.

Origin, on request

Ask, and we will tell you the country of origin of your natural diamond or coloured stone wherever our supplier provides it.

Independent reports

Every stone we set is independently graded, and the report states whether it is natural or lab-grown and any treatment detected.

Fairmined gold

Our gold is Fairmined certified.

Your choice of origin

We work with natural and lab-grown diamonds, and we will tell you plainly what each one is.

If something matters to you, say so at the start, and we will source around it.

Wherever you buy, these questions are fair to ask:

Do you receive the System of Warranties on your diamonds?

The answer should be a simple yes.

Can you tell me where this stone came from?

Not every supplier can give a mine, but an honest jeweller will tell you what they know and what they do not.

Is there an independent report?

It should confirm what the stone is, natural or lab-grown, and any treatment.

Where does the metal come from?

Recycled, certified, or unknown. All are answers; only one is evasive.