Is Your Engagement Ring Sustainable? Here's What You Need to Know
Earth Day is coming, and at Capucinne, we’re thinking about why it’s so important to create sustainable engagement rings for our customers.
Fine jewelry isn’t something that most people think about in terms of sustainability—but in fact, the jewelry industry as a whole puts a lot of strain on the environment and on people. This is especially a problem for local environments that become polluted by dirty mining operations and vulnerable populations who suffer from labor violations in the supply chain.
Ethically sourced jewelry and eco-friendly jewelry materials are out there, so let’s take a tour of how we make sustainable engagement rings here at Capucinne.
For the Environment, Less Is More
Sustainable engagement rings are “once-in-a-lifetime” treasures—they should be as rare as the gemstones they cradle. Wedding engagements are a very special moment in our lives. The hope is that you will only ever need one engagement ring. Buying only a small number of new jewelry pieces in your lifetime is much more environmentally responsible than buying lots of new jewelry over the years.
- Thoughtful Tip: This ethically sourced jewelry principle only applies to new jewelry. For second-hand jewelry, the environmental impact is already done.
Ethical Sourcing Makes a Huge Difference
As artisans who create new jewelry pieces, there are three key practices we have adopted at Capucinne to minimize the environmental impact of our products and make sustainable engagement rings, wedding bands, necklaces, and more.
1. We Use Eco-Friendly Jewelry Materials
At Capucinne, we are committed to using eco-friendly jewelry materials. 100% of the gold and platinum in our jewelry is recycled. This is the same idea as we mentioned above about buying jewelry second-hand. We buy our precious metals “second-hand” in that they come from recycled sources rather than newly mined supplies.
2. We Are Increasing Our Use of Lab-Grown Gemstones
The most ethically sourced jewelry avoids the use of mining almost entirely. Lab-grown diamonds and other gemstones are molecularly identical to the ones mined from the Earth. They sparkle just as brilliantly and capture the light in exactly the same way. The difference is that these are much more eco-friendly jewelry materials that make for much more sustainable engagement rings: They do not require nearly the same scale of expensive, inefficient mining as gemstone mines do. Even after you factor in the power and water costs of growing them in the lab, it’s still a lot better than mining. And while the industry is not there yet, it is even possible to imagine a day when the lab-grown gemstones industry avoids mines altogether for gemstones like diamonds by sourcing raw materials like carbon from renewable sources, such as trees that can be sustainably managed.
The most sustainable engagement rings use lab-grown gems!
3. We Only Craft Using Conflict-Free Gemstones
Ethically sourced jewelry has to do more than just use eco-friendly jewelry materials. There is also the issue of human labor abuses in the mines and farther down the precious stones supply chain. Additionally, there is the scourge of “conflict diamonds” and other gemstones that are used to funnel money into armed conflict that devastates civilian populations.
We keep in mind the following when sourcing stones for our ring collection:
Legitime Suppliers Only
Sustainable engagement rings come from conflict-free suppliers!
At Capucinne, we are committed to the Kimberley Process, an international standard designed to remove conflict diamonds from the supply chain. We source our diamonds and other gemstones from legitimate sellers across the globe.
Respecting Human Rights
Human-friendly labor practices are as important as using eco-friendly jewelry materials. When it comes to labor abuses, we do our due diligence to ensure that we only use suppliers who foster humane workplace conditions that comply with international labor standards. That’s a key part of making ethically sourced jewelry. As for the rest of the supply chain, Capucinne is a small independent jewelry studio. This gives us a lot more oversight and control over the process of creating sustainable engagement rings and other fine jewelry pieces.
Craft the Engagement Ring of Your Dreams Sustainably with Ethically Sourced Jewelry by Capucinne
We want you to enjoy and admire the timeless treasures we create for you, guilt-free! Our dedication to making sustainable engagement rings and other ethically sourced jewelry is a part of our mission as an independent jewelry studio.
If you’re looking for an amazing ring, we can help bring your vision to life with our custom ring program—a hassle-free, guided process where you can modify one of our existing designs or create your own from scratch.
Have questions or need assistance? Contact us and we will be happy to help you create the ring of a lifetime!
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