A stand against Dirty Gold

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Folks,

Although this is somewhat old news in the industry, I want to raise a little public awareness of the environmental and social aspects of goldmining. I think the forum sellers would do well joining this campaign especially considering the fact that they also sell environmentally-correct, tissue-only nucleated cultured pearls (the bead nucleated ones are environmentally unsound owing to the related poaching of American freshwater mussels). Here's a good article on the subject of dirty gold.

http://www.nodirtygold.org/PRleaderslaggards.cfm

And here is a more recent one:

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060814-113645-1330r.htm

Zeide

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Zeide

Good for you. This does matter and it seems that one of the principles operating on this forum is a respect for integrity. When a subject such as this is presented, it becomes an important opportunity to reach for new levels of integrity. It becomes imperative to find a findings source of green gold.

Maybe something small like asking the finding companies where they buy their gold and letting the forum know when we find a source of clean gold. I for one would pay extra for a simple fish hook clasp of clean gold and eschew any clasps, however fancy, if they were not. However, I do not wear gold, but strongly prefer silver, as you know. Any story on silver?


Quote from first cited article:
The production of a single gold ring generates, on average, 20 tons of waste. Gold mining has caused massive environmental destruction, contaminated fisheries and fresh water used for drinking and irrigation, and displaced tens of thousands of rural farming, fishing, and ranching communities.


I can not resist lapsing into some personal family history, as this subject of dirty gold mines has been a personal thing for my family since the 1870?s in California. My mother?s gt grandfather, Campbell Berry, got there after the beginning of the gold rush, in 1857, and went to near Marysville/Orville where they started raising wheat. Placer mining soon began ruining the water in the rivers coming out of the Sierra, wrecking crops and fields, causing devastating damage to the local farms and ranches, so recently beginning to provide local fresh food- not wheat shipped in stinky wet, boats, for instance. So CP, as he was known, ran for the state legislature for many years, ran for Congress and won, on a platform of fighting the placer miners? destructive methods. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000415 He won some battles, but obviously lost the ?war? because the above quote is exactly what was going on since back then.

 

[Caitlin]

Here is green karat place.

I can't find any clasps that are made of recycled gold, yet. Sourcing some could be the beginning of something big, but so far, it is pretty far ahead of the curve.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Caitlin,

The green karat company manufactures. I think it would be a particularly good idea to come up with a unique design for a green gold clasp that would be exclusive to freshadamas. It would even give them some Mystique (only genuine with the capital M).

Zeide

 

[jshepherd]

I already have an email out to the folks at greenKarat. I like the idea of a "green" clasp. I will let you know what they say. But if they are far over standard it would not really be feasible. They use the same materials we currently collect ? scrap gold. We currently sell it (in trade) to our CAM designer for just under market. That daily scrap does equal several hundred dollars per month.

In the pearl industry we rely on those that 'can' supply, not select from those that will, based on simple preference (unfortunately). We have accounts with nearly every clasp supplier in the US (that bases price on weight, not fantasy), and are always short one kind or another. Clasps are not like chains, unfortunately. 5000 pieces may be available one month, and another run may not start for 2-3. Overpaying at a beading store is a backup, but what it comes down to is that the choices are not really there ? regardless of the fact that there is absolutely no disclosure.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Jeremy
Good for you! It is so great you are asking. If there is enough interest as people become aware of the idea, things may change. Isn't it funny how clasps are so often the clutching point. They are such a bugaboo. They are often hard to use. The ones you like are always hard to find. So many are simply bad at staying closed- which it their basic purpose, after all. So many are difficult to open or close. There is ammple room for some kind of cutting edge clasp company to make a statement here.

Remember, it was not that long ago that the only place one could get pearls was in the local jewelry store- or bead shop for the commercial grade. Now internet sellers have blown the bottom out of the super-inflated brick and mortar sales and the result is an unbelievable increase in pearl sales. I think more people own pearls now than any other time in history.

That fact must put pressure on the clasp industry, resulting in the spotty supply, but they do not seem to have woken up to the new morning, yet. There is room for a clasp entrepreneur to desgn our wishes and market directly to the trade and the public via online.

In my experience, the findings supply houses are often completely out of the internet loop and even when they get a web page, each page is often some old fashioned catalog page photgraphed, en toto. Ordering from them is a nightmare compared to say, Amazon or even eBay. You have to flip between "pages" to write down the item number on the order form page, for instance. Lets hope a clasp manufacturer someone "finds a need and fills it"- as the cement trucks in SF used to say on the sides.

 

[jshepherd]

Hi Jeremy,

I?m sorry, we neither work with pearl, nor sell wholesale. But thanks for your interest!

Best,

Matt

Matthew White
greenKarat.com

 

[Slraep]

Hi Jeremy.

There is a lack of good 22K clasps amoungst pearl sellers. The better it be recycled. Looks beautiful and exotic with dark SSs, especially if it is embellished with fine granulation or scrollwork. I really like that look.

Slraep

 

[Caitlin]

The call is out. I will keep an eye out too. We can order the minute someone new gets into the business. And shamelessly promote the company here for its good work making recycled gold clasps part of the landscape..

 

[perlas]

As a designer, I only use recycled gold for my designs and clasps.

In the Philippines, only gold, diamonds, and south sea pearls are of value. Goldsmithing is cheaper here so people can have their pieces re-designed once in a while. Heirloom and antique pieces, instead of going to shops or auctions, are sold as gold scrap. The stones hold no value here and taken out of the mounting.

Gold scrap, depending on daily gold price fluctuations, may cost less that newly mined gold (even though the Philippines have it's own gold mine).

Gold is also bought here as an investment.

I'm going to take goldsmithing lessons soon so I may be able to share some knowledge in the future if needed.

 

[sahara]

I don't have much to report on recycled gold or silver. I did find a site called Shiana.com selling fair trade silver beads, clasps, toggles, and jewelry. Most of the available materials are made with > 99 % silver, beautifully designed and hand forged by people in a Karen village in northern Thailand (Karen is a tribe in Thailand and Burma). Ninety nine % silver is supposed to be soft, but the jewelry I purchased from them recently seems just fine. They also have a few sterling silver (92.5% silver) beads and clasps that are made with the lost wax method. It took about two weeks from the time I ordered to when I received the material (international registered mail).

They do not seem to advertised about fair trade on their webpage, but I found them through Coop America's Green Pages, which lists only screened and approved green businesses. http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/gre...ibutes=&category=J1&keywords=&state=&country=

Regards,
Sahara

 

[Valeria101]

Is there any environmental study of the pearling industry out there?

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Ana,

In French Polynesia and Australia pearl farm operators have to do environmental impact studies before setting up pearl farms. The main concern are dolphins getting trapped in securing ropes and drowning but general ecological impact studies are also mandatory there. Mostly pearl farms are beneficial to the environment overall but overcrowded rafts can and do cause serious problems primarily related to scallop excrement and resulting algae blooms from overfertilization.

Zeide

 

[icevic]

why not stainless steel?

why not stainless steel?

High quality stainless steel is, like gold, non-staining, non-reactive, and does not irritate the skin. I don't see why clasps need to be gold at all. Its the pearls that matter, right?

Stainless steel jewelry is growing in popularity and most people already wear stainless steel watches.

 

[tacy_cc]

green gold

green gold

HI everyone, I'm a jewelry designer from the Philippines and I've actualy been around for a bit but haven't had the gumption to post anything much as you all seem to know much more and as i read on, my questions are actualy answered by previous threads/posts. I am awed by the exchanges here and the expertise of the members and i am quite the shy one in such awesome company, hence my hesitation to post. My name is Anastacia, I'm a stay-at-home, hands-on mom to 3 awesome kids and my gem of choice is and always shall be, the golden south sea pearl. My mother has been an avid collector since i was a little girl and is actually considered a vip client of Jewelmer and so she has passed on the love of pearls to me, God Bless her! Anyway, I used to work as director for a foundation here which was under the umbrella of a pawnshop group-talk about irony! My main projects were SME's in the fringes of Manila, giving them reasonable uncollateralized loans as well as scholarships in the tertiary to the university levels all around the country-side. This pawnshop group has 2000 or so retail outlets and is still growing.

Clientelle of the pawnshop chain comprises the poorest of the poor you can ever imagine. Interest rates are bannered at 5% PER MONTH!!!but if you miss an interest payment during the 4 month contract, you are charged an additional 3% which totals to 8% per month. Items more likely end up reposessed (LOTS OF WEDDING RINGS, OUCH!!) and the gold sold at auction in kilos and several lots of USD$ 21,000 each ( i forget how heavy each lot is).

This business exists because there is HORRIBLE and prevalent systemic/endemic poverty in the 3rd world. It is heart-breaking to see mothers carrying their babies, pawn and beg in tears for a higher appraisal or to have their loans extended. They are sick and poor people who have to pay for medicines for ailing family members or dying family members. It's simply gut-wrenching! I therefore no longer work for this group or in this industry. It is called the "blood money" industry. I guess that all scrap gold in the 3rd world comes from this chain of suffering. Most of the bidders and buyers for this scrap gold are jewellers and wholesalers.

It certainly poses a great moral dilemma for me as a designer because scrap gold is of good value and quality and yet it is tainted by usuriousness and suffering. I can't help but reflect on which is worse, dirty gold or "blood-gold". I certainly never knew the extent of dirty-gold mining on the environment and i do not approve of it. So i guess I' d like to hear your opinion and also share this insight with you all. My husband is Danish and he is amazed(in a bad way) with the whole concept of the industry, it's simply unbelievable. I'm wondering if there is a source of scrap gold that isn't morally controversial since dirty gold is simply unacceptable either. I tend to ramble on, but anyway, my personal metal of choice is 925 silver, plain and simple. Looking good doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Good day to you all!

 

[pattye]

Hello Tacy__cc,

Welcome and thank you for sharing your insights, and such an articulate, moving personal experience. It is just one of the benefits of coming to this forum and being able to "talk" to others of like interest from all over the world.

It certainly helps us know there are many points of view, and as we increase our depth of understanding we know that something that seemed rather simple is truly complex.

Pattye

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Tacy
You bring a real inside view to the story of dirty gold. I am so glad to see that story told.

It makes me glad I prefer silver and always have. Now I have a good politically correct reason to continue to eschew gold in my findings. (oh no! Don't tell me silver is dirty too! )

To anyone-
Is that 23k granulated gold, or whatever it is called, being mined, curently? How dirty is it? Is it possible it is not too dirty?

This forum is a great place to present research and reporting on subjects such as this. Since we have opened it up, I'd love to see many people contributing to the various aspects of this subject.