Jewelry Ethics

When I consider my approach to crafting jewelry, I cannot separate it from the land. The land provides my ever-present inspiration. 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.

The making of jewelry has traditionally been built on extractive practices that cause land degradation, water pollution and the exploitation of workers around the world. But there can be a different way.

From my first days as a jeweler, I’ve always considered carefully how I can craft work that adheres to my land ethic of care. I believe jewelry—made up of stones and metals pulled right from the earth—can be an expression of the land’s beauty. Several key choices I make ensure my jewelry is ethically made and sourced:

Recycled Gold, Silver and Diamonds:

All the gold and silver I purchase to make my pieces is 100% recycled. The metal is all derived from post-consumer content—old jewelry, electronics and other industrial products—and they use a tightly controlled refining process that uses less chemicals, and produces zero wastewater.

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 GIAA certified.

Reclaiming the Old into Something New:

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 use them!

Local Montana Sapphires:

I love working with Montana-mined sapphires. When I started my business in Montana ten years 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:

Old-mine cut diamonds were cut by hand in the 18^th and 19^th 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.