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Ethical Gems
We offer many Ethically Sourced stones and practice a Fair Trade business model. What is Fair Trade?Fair Trade is a practice where products are bought for a price that is equal, to or greater than, the current global market price. Fair Trade standards also strive to improve the lives of the parties involved.We have been blessed by the opportunity to purchase uncut gems from a family of mine owners in Kenya. The land they own is worked by independant miners who are paid a direct percentage for the gemstones they discover. Thereby, they receive a higher wage than if they were working for corporate mines where their pay is pennies to the dollar. There are also no corrupt government officials or guerrilla forces involved. We can trace where each stone comes from. We are also working to improve the working conditions of the miners. Already some of our funds have gone toward the upgrade of gemstone grading equipment.Each of the gemstones are completely untreated rough gemstones, mined by hand from the earth. This is far better for the evniroment than the strip mining practices used by corporate mining companies. The quality of the gemstones are also guaranteed to be superior to the mass produced stones found through out the market. They have not been fracture-filled, heated, irradiated, color diffused, oiled or treated in anyway.We have paid to have the best stones from each parcel faceted by Master Cutters here in the U.S. This allows us to choose the cuts that we want as well as having a far superior finished product. In commercially cut or "native" cut stones the objective is to keep as much carat weight as possible. You wind up with stones that are too deep or wide to return light properly to your eye. This creates a window effect. You can see right through the stone. Here in the US we prefer the quality of light return over the weight of the stone. You will see the difference immediately.We are looking forward to posting each new creation as they are finished.
18K Eco Gold
I am a supporter of "No Dirty Gold" What is Dirty Gold? Gold mining is notorious for environmentally hazardous practices.Tonnes of gold-bearing rocks must be pulverized and mixed with water to create a slurry. The slurry is then separated in heated toxic baths of arsenic, cyanide and a flux, so the gold can separate from the other minerals and host rock.The gold is not pure yet. It is heated in large furnace kettles. Impurities sink and the pure gold is poured off. The toxic molten remains are then dumped into open pits to cool and be buried. Slag poisons the water supply and surrounding soil. "No Dirty Gold" calls for jewelers to be responsible in our obtaining and support of ethically sourced/recycled gold. My choice is to use recycled gold. So when you wear my pieces you wear gold that gives you peace of mind as well as a piece of art!If you are interested in recycling your old gold pieces for store credit please see our new section GOLD RECYCLING section.
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Eco Silver
Argentium Sterling and Traditional Sterling are both Silver Alloys . Sterling contains 92.5% silver, alloyed w/ Copper or any other metal. Argentium can contain a range of 93% to 97% silver, alloyed w/ Germanium replacing the reactive copper.The benefits of this trademarked alloy are many. For instance, without copper , it is hypo-allergenic. It also resists tarnishing, mellowing rather than blackening. It has the options of being fused rather than soldered, which also cuts down on chemical use in the production.Just like the ECO Gold Collection, this silver is made with recycled silver.
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Interwoven
The technique I use is often called the "Viking Knit" due to the frequency of occurance in Scandinavian Hoards excavated throughout Europe. There are examples of this knit silver in many ancient civiliations. Each of my woven pieces are made using handmade wooden tools. You can get a peak into the process in some of these photos.
Repousse
This is my all-time favorite Jewelry Arts technique! The hammer and chisel creating form and definition. Here are my pieces inspired by all the amazing Angels depicted in stained glass windows around the world.If there are any designs you would like to see made feel free to contact us here.
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Ethical Gems
18K Eco Gold
Eco Silver
Interwoven
Repousse
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