Nearly all jewellery creators incorporate coloured gemstones to some degree. These gemstones exist in a vast array of varieties, featuring multiple colours, shapes, and symbolic meanings that extend beyond their decorative and ornamental purposes. But what do we know about their origin and their journey into our hands?
The supply chains for most of the raw materials we use are associated with severe environmental damage, armed conflict, corruption, child labour, and various human rights violations in numerous countries across the global south. This dark reality also affects coloured gemstones, which traverse a highly opaque and largely unregulated market with numerous actors and intermediaries.
Approximately 90% of gems originate from countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where artisanal mining often serves as a subsistence economic activity driven by poverty and limited opportunities. Throughout the extraction phase and subsequent processing, we encounter a series of challenges that professionals and jewellery enthusiasts alike should be mindful of.
This concern, and especially the need to identify options that allow us to make jewellery with a positive impact, has driven us to develop the booklet Responsible gemstones. From mine to jewel: a critical examination of the coloured gemstone supply chain for responsibly sourced alternatives, a collaborative effort between geologist and gemmologist Carmen García-Carballido and the ORIGEN – Gold for Future collective.
It has six chapters through which we delve into the coloured gemstone market, seeking to provide valuable information to guide us towards best practices in responsible jewellery. We analyse the context, rights violations and environmental impacts at different stages of the supply chain. In the final part, we provide a description of four inspiring artisanal gemstone mining and responsible sourcing projects from countries such as Madagascar, Tanzania and Zambia, among others.
We will soon be launching a new edition of the Responsible Jewellery Dialogues to further explore the complex and fascinating world of coloured gemstones.
