When I consider my approach to crafting jewelry, I cannot separate it from the land. The land provides my ever-present inspiration: the texture of rocks shaped by glaciers and falling water over millennia, how the late afternoon sun sparkles on the spray of a riffle, the pink skies on winter evenings.
I have a relationship with the land and water surrounding me. We all do. Some of us may be further removed from physically living on the land, but we all depend on it. Everything that nourishes, provides for us and brings us joy—from food to the clothes and jewelry we wear—derives from the land. The choices we make about all these forms of consumption also have tangible consequences.
From a young age, my land ethic—the give and take relationship I have with the earth—has always been founded on a deep love of our natural world. We live on such a complex, mysterious and beautiful planet! I work hard to have the choices I make, from where I live, to how I live, to what I buy, reflect the care I feel. Of course, I am hardly perfect. None of us are. We make choices amid all the other tasks that our daily lives contain.
Unfortunately, many of the “which of these should I buy?” choices we make are lodged within a system that prioritizes short-term, destructive extraction in order to maximize profits. The business of making jewelry is no different. Land degradation, water pollution and the exploitation of workers around the world have been the “costs” of mining for hundreds of years. But is there a different way?
I love the beauty of this world. I believe jewelry—made up of stones and metals pulled right from the earth—can be an expression of the land’s beauty. Doesn’t a gorgeous blue Montana sapphire remind you of its origins in the cobble of clear running Montana stream? Doesn’t the exquisite clarity of diamond make you consider the time and pressure it took to make that stone?
From my first days as a jeweler in a tiny backyard shack, I’ve always considered carefully how my jewelry business can adhere to my land ethic of care. There are several key choices I make to ensure my jewelry has a lighter impact on the earth—so that it is more a reflection of the beauty of the earth rather than an exploitation of that beauty:
Reclaiming and Recycling Gold, Silver and Diamonds: All the gold and silver I purchase to make my pieces is 100% recycled. It comes from old jewelry, electronics and other industrial products. Hoover & Strong is my main supplier. Their metal is all derived from post-consumer content and they use a tightly controlled refining process that uses less chemicals, and produces zero wastewater. There is already over 216,000 metric tons of gold and 1.7 million tons of silver that is in circulation above ground. That’s a lot! With plenty of this metal already out of the ground, we shouldn’t need to mine more of it from large scale mines with questionable labor practices. Instead, these metals can be transformed into new jewelry that unearth some the beauty held in these miraculous metals.
One of my favorite parts of making jewelry is being able to take customers old pieces of heirloom jewelry and reclaim them into something new and completely unique. This reclaiming is done right here in my studio. When you send me your old jewelry, I test it to check the integrity of the metal before melting it down to use in your beautiful creation. If you have sapphires or diamonds in your jewelry you’d like to use in a new piece, I can also do this.
My smaller diamonds under half a carat are all reclaimed—meaning they’ve been pulled from old pieces of jewelry, re-cut if needed and made into new sparkling pieces of jewelry. Larger diamonds are all GIA certified.
Local Montana Sapphires: I love working with Montana-mined sapphires. When I started my business in Montana ten year ago, I would search through bags of cobble sourced from Rock Creek to find these little raw beauties. These exquisite stones are some of the most local fine stones you can get. They are all sourced from a handful of small-scale mines in Montana that use alluvial methods to extract stones from gravels and riverbeds. Rigorous environmental standards are followed in Montana: very clean water effluent is released and the land is fully reclaimed after being mined. Take a look at some of my Montana Sapphire rings.
Old Mine Cut Diamonds: These have become much more well-known after Taylor Swift revealed an old mine cut diamond on her engagement ring last year. Old-mine cut diamonds were cut by hand in the 18th and 19th century and have a different faceting pattern than modern machine cut diamonds. They were cut to be viewed under candlelight and have a softer, more organic brilliance. Because they were cut by hand, no two old mine cut diamonds are the same. These stones have been in circulation for a long time. I love reclaiming them into new pieces to continue their lifespan! Check out the Old Mine Cut Solitaire ring.
As my business grows and evolves, I am always thinking about how I can improve my sourcing and reclaiming practices to reflect my land ethic. I firmly believe jewelry can be made in a responsible way that reflects and honors the beauty of our earth.