Anyone who has ever seen the photographs taken in 1986 by Sebastião Salgado in the Serra Pelada gold mine in the state of Pará, Brazil, will never look at his jewels in the same way again. Illustrating modern servitude and the working conditions in these immense gold mines, these photos leave a lasting impression. And the same can be said of diamonds, which are much less glamorous after seeing the film Blood Diamond (starring Leonardi di Caprio, released in 2006) than Breakfast at Tiffany's (starring Audrey Hepburn).

Mining of precious stones and metals can have catastrophic consequences for the environment and humans. This is why, for about twenty years, major jewelry brands and new market entrants, with the support of professional confederations and NGOs, have been trying to clean up this industry by choosing suppliers who have changed their production methods and ensure better traceability.

Gold, an extraction with dark consequences

Costly extraction of natural resources

2500 tons of gold per year are processed to make jewelry. However, gold mining is one of the most polluting activities and requires large quantities of ore for poor results. According to the ARM (Alliance for Responsible Mining), to extract 20g of gold, 70 tons of material are returned including 50 tons of soil, consuming 50,000 liters of water, and releasing 430kg of CO2, not to mention the mercury and cyanide used as solvents for extraction in industrial mines that supply 90% of the market.

Extremely polluting and destructive

The largest gold mines are said to be dumping up to 1,900 tonnes of cyanide into the environment each year. These practices are causing pollution of rivers and the destruction of entire ecosystems.

The consequences can be just as disastrous when the contaminated water retention basins give way, as in Romania in January 2000 or in Brazil in 2015. In 2019, the rupture of a dam in Brazil caused a tsunami of toxic mud (iron ore), which flooded the Minas Gerais region, causing several deaths and an ecological disaster .

In French Guiana, the Montagne d'Or project – in the heart of the Amazon rainforest – was also to use the retention basin technique. This project planned to operate the largest open-pit mine in France from 2022. In May 2019, the executive deemed the Montagne d'Or mine project incompatible with France's environmental requirements.

The fact remains that the rejection of the Montagne d'Or project does not solve the problem of illegal gold panning. The Gendarmerie estimates that there are 10,000 illegal gold panners on 500 sites. To separate the gold flakes from the mud, they use mercury, some of which is released into the environment.

And socially impactful

The use of chemical components also has an impact on workers and local populations. The former are in direct contact with toxic products, the latter suffer from the pollution of their natural resources. Thus, villages in Africa, located around artisanal mining operations, are directly affected: cultivation and fishing can no longer be practiced.

Finally, working conditions are a problem: child labour, unsafe structures, low wages.

Labels for clean gold: Fairmined, Fairtrade

Among the labels developed for more ethical gold, two stand out: Fairmined, issued by a Colombian NGO, and Fairtrade launched by the Swiss Max Havelaar Foundation. These labels guarantee the traceability of gold, with extraction conditions that limit, or even eliminate, the use of harmful chemicals. It is also a question of respecting labor rights within the operations, and guaranteeing decent wages, even within small artisanal operations. The Minamata Convention , signed in 2013, more firmly regulates the use of mercury for gold extraction. While Fairmined or Fairtrade gold only generates an additional cost of 10 to 12%, production remains extremely limited: a few hundred kilos per year, while global gold production is 3,300 tonnes.

Recycled gold increasingly used

Gold is a resource that is running out, and its stocks are limited. However, it is estimated that there is enough gold already mined to meet the needs of the jewellery industry for the next 50 years. Therefore, jewellers concerned about traceability mainly use recycled gold and players certified by the “RJC” (Responsible Jewellery Council) organisation, which has developed a reference standard for the entire supply chain.

This recycled gold generates almost no additional cost, and it is also gold that has already had a life, in the form of jewelry or inside an electronic component. Since January 1, 2016, it is no longer possible to directly recycle gold from individuals; the operation must be the subject of a gold buyback before it can be used in the manufacture of the new jewelry. The gold recovery price then includes the costs related to its refining to return it to its original pure state before using it to create a new alloy.

Diamonds, traceability facilitated by the concentration of the sector

The end of "Blood Diamonds"

Conflict diamonds became an alarming subject with the civil war in Angola from the 1970s and then with the conflict in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s. NGOs then discovered how rebel groups, UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone financed their bloody raids thanks to the extraction of diamonds in mines they had taken control of.

In May 2000, at the instigation of the UN, a summit brought together producer countries that wished to join (its members now represent more than 99% of the world's diamond production), the diamond industry and NGOs in the mining town of Kimberley, South Africa. This summit then initiated the Kimberley Process, concluded in 2003, which established a certification system tracing the origin and guaranteeing – in theory – that no rough diamond is a "conflict diamond". In Switzerland, the Swiss Jewellers and Goldsmiths' Union (UBOS) developed a code of conduct for traders in 2006. Other verification and traceability systems exist: Forevermark to clearly distinguish natural, untreated diamonds from conflict-free locations, and Everledger, a secure registry that establishes the supply chain of each gem with strict certification in a digital safe.

Regulation favored by concentration

Two facts have allowed the Kimberley Process to become firmly established.

The Belgian diamond company De Beers, which in the late 1990s held a quasi-monopolistic position on the market. It produced around 45% of diamonds and sold almost 80% of the world's production, which gave it an important regulatory role. And the fact that diamonds still pass through a few well-known exchanges, the most important being in Antwerp (still 50% of world production), ahead of Tel Aviv, New York and London.

A strong environmental impact

It is important because the sector needs space, a lot of water and energy. If the amount of pollutants used in the stone treatment process is almost insignificant - especially in comparison with gold - diamonds weigh on the environment . Digging a pit the volume of 26,000 Olympic swimming pools - as is the case for the Victor mine, in Attawapiskat, in the Canadian Far North, operated by De Beers - is not insignificant for the balance of an ecosystem. But for the past 15-20 years, in addition to the Kimberley Process, diamond cutters have made significant progress in terms of responsible and transparent practices.

The study commissioned from Trucost, a subsidiary of S&P Global, by the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), an organization that represents 75% of global production, dissects the impact on nature of these large diamond mines in Canada, Botswana, Australia and Russia.

According to the report, the activities of mining companies producing natural diamonds emitted an average of 160 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) for every 1 carat of diamond produced in 2016. They claim to pay their miners, who are locals, 66% more than the local wage and invest in social and education programs. However, the report acknowledges that to reduce the environmental impact, the sector will need to further adopt renewable energy , increase the recycling of mining waste produced on sites, and continue to improve safety.

Precious stones, difficult to “clean”

A test of supervision

In 2010, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), in cooperation with the Vienna International Institute of Justice and the International
Colored Gemstones Association, has created a public-private partnership to improve transparency, regulation, working conditions and sustainability in the gemstone supply chain from mine to export markets. Brands participating in the initiative include Cartier, Bulgari, Dior, Tiffany & Co., Gemfields and countries such as Myanmar (Burma), Kenya, Colombia, Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, with many more invited to join.

Synthetic stones, the solution?

Identical structures

Faced with the scarcity of natural resources, but also and above all, with the demand of younger people, more concerned about environmental issues, but also about price, the demand for synthetic stones has increased sharply in recent years.

Artificial diamonds are not new. The process of manufacturing artificial stones began in the early 20th century, but their arrival on the jewelry market is more recent. While diamonds from mines are the result of thousands of years of natural processes, those from laboratories are created in just a few weeks. Made from carbon, they display the same structure, the same physical, chemical and optical characteristics, the same hardness and brilliance as traditional diamonds, but they have less impact on nature. Certified synthetic diamonds are sold for 40% less.

• In France, Jeweler Courbet is the specialist, with Millennials in its sights, who are more sensitive to the conditions of extraction of natural stones.
• In 2018, the world number 1 in diamonds, De Beers, also chose to focus on synthetic diamonds through its Lightbox Jewelry brand launched in the United States at much more affordable prices, while continuing to exploit natural stones within the Diamond Producers Association (DPA).
• A few years ago, Pomellato was a pioneer by releasing the “Rouge Passion” collection with scarlet synthetic stones.
• Swarowski has unveiled a fine jewelry line made from ethical Peruvian white gold and cultured diamonds,
• In May 2021, Danish company Pandora decided to abandon mined diamonds in favor of synthetic ones.

A controversial assessment

The Trucost study revealed that the greenhouse gas emissions of synthetic stones are estimated at 511 kilograms of CO2 for 1 carat of diamonds, or 3 times more than a natural diamond. Synthetic stones do not exploit nature, but require a very large amount of energy for their production. Hence a controversy launched by the natural diamond industry.

Because while some manufacturers are starting to use renewable energy, particularly in California, this is not the case in India or China, where fossil fuels largely prevail. And Courbet, who presents himself as an “ecological jeweler,” claims a negligible carbon footprint, thanks to energy of nuclear origin in France, solar in the United States and hydraulic in Russia. The two camps have not finished opposing each other.

Brands that are committed

All the major jewelers have now put their collections in order, challenged by new arrivals.

The great transparent jewelers

• Chopard launched its Green Carpet collection in 2013, the first high-end jewellery line with Fairmined gold and ethical stones, and extended it to all its jewellery in 2018, committing to acquiring its precious metal from responsible suppliers, meeting the best environmental and social standards, artisans from small mining communities attached to official organisations, via the Fairmined and Fairtrade programmes, or from a refinery in the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) sector.
• At LVMH, all brands in the watches & jewelry sector (Bvlgari, Tiffany & Co., Chaumet, Fred, Dior, Hublot, Tag Heuer) are RJC certified. In 2017, 98.5% of diamonds purchased were RJC certified.
• Bulgari obtained the Chain of Custody certification set up by the RJC for gold in 2015.
• The Cartier group (Richemont group) has submitted all its diamond purchases to the Kimberley Process Guarantees system since 2003 and was certified in 2011 by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
• The Kering group (Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Gucci) has the objective of reaching 100% responsible gold by 2025, coming from several eligible sources that combine RJC's Chain of Custody certified gold with gold from Fairmined or Fairtrade certified artisanal mines. Or from mines that have banned the use of mercury in their extraction processes.
• Wanting to go beyond sourcing, La Maison Cartier, Kering and the Responsible Jewellery Council launched the Watch and Jewellery Initiative 2030 in October 2021, which brings together players in the watch and jewellery sector who want to commit to a set of ambitious and common objectives in three areas: strengthening climate resilience, preserving resources and promoting inclusion.

The new brands:

Many brands are emerging, which promote short circuits, upcycling, recycling, and artisanal know-how. In the tradition of the British Cred, a pioneer since 1996, with Fairmined and Fairtrade gold and recycled stones, we can cite in France: JEM (Jewellery Ethically Minded, Fairmined gold), but also Douze Paris (recycled gold, authenticated stones), DFLY (synthetic diamonds and 18K recycled gold ), Courbet (recycled gold and synthetic diamonds), Héloïse & Abélard (recycled gold and second-hand diamonds), Elise Tsikis (recycled 24k gold, short and controlled circuit). To name just a few.

In terms of jewelry, conflicts in the countries where the deposits were located triggered a shift in the 1990s, leading to better regulation of provenance and traceability. They allowed these industries to take a fairly early turn towards a sustainable, ethical, social and environmental policy, reinforced by the demands of a new generation of luxury consumers . The fact remains that mining operations, even when better regulated, denature the soil and disrupt the landscape in a lasting way.