Bejeweled . The World of Ethical Jewelry
Bejeweled: The World of Ethical Jewelry
by Kyle Roderick, Rizzoli New York, 2019.
Foreword by Hutton Wilkinson
September 2019 | Hardcover / 9” x 11” / 224 pages | 200 color photographs
ISBN: 978-0-847-86588-8
In the wake of Charles Leavitt’s insightful 2006 movie Blood Diamond, which highlighted how conflict diamonds funded Sierra Leone’s tragic civil war, buying and wearing ethically sourced and sustainably mined jewelry has become a must for discerning luxury consumers. The first book to cover this timely subject, Bejeweled celebrates how jewelry, long associated with indulgence and wealth, is morphing into an environmentally responsible luxury business and sustainable applied art form powered by social enterprise business models and philanthropic values. Author Kyle Roderick’s jewelry journalism for FORBES.com and her Instagram gallery @bijouxreview have established her as a leading authority on design-driven, ethical jewelry.
In Bejeweled, Roderick profiles fifteen designers, including London-based Pippa Small, an early proponent of using Fair- mined gold and ethically sourced gemstones. Small employs local artisans in Burma, Afghanistan and other countries to fabricate her one-of-a-kind pieces at Fair Trade wages. Native American Hopi fine artist Dewey Nelson incorporates proprietary and one-thousand-year-old tribal motifs in his hand-made, reclaimed silver pieces that are set with ethically sourced tourmaline, turquoise and seashells.
Handmade in Southern California, Loren Teetelli’s brand Loren Nicole features intricately hand-carved gemstones and 22- karat gold that she alloys herself in the same formula used by ancient Roman goldsmiths. Most importantly, as Roderick observes in her introduction, “...it must be noted that luxurious ethical jewelry is visually indistinguishable from other bejeweled adornments. The major defining factors of ethical jewelry include whether its materials are documented as having been sustainably mined, grown, or handmade by people working under safe, humane conditions and paid Fairtrade wages.”
Defining important design trends and upmarket consumer preferences, Bejeweled explores how ethical jewelry is becoming an exponentially important luxury goods niche. As designer Hutton Wilkinson of the jewelry brand Tony Duquette states, in the Foreword, “...industry studies indicate that the people who are driving the growth in ethically- sourced jewelry are environmentally and socially conscious Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. Many of today’s jewelry lovers want to know the origin stories behind their jewelry. Bejeweled is an irresistibly timely book that documents the how and why behind the many positive and sustainable changes that are reducing the environmental footprints of the jewelry and mining industries.”
Along with being a dazzlingly positive force in the luxury goods sector, ethical jewelry forms a vital new chapter in applied arts history. Beautifully photographed and carefully researched, Bejeweled is the first book to highlight how international designers, artisanal miners, non-profit organizations plus mining companies, retailers and consumers are powering the 21st century ethical revolution in the business of adornment. Alive with an array of design-driven, ethically sourced jewels that are as culturally important as they are visually beautiful, Bejeweled is to be treasured by fashion and applied arts lovers, or anyone who appreciates gorgeous, yet sustainable adornments. An authoritative guide for those seeking to collect jewelry in a socially conscious way, Bejeweled also makes a classic gift that will forever adorn coffee tables and book shelves.
About the Authors: Journalist Kyle Roderick is the founder and editor in chief of BIJOUXreview.com. She covers design-driven jewelry and timepieces for Forbes and other publications. Hutton Wilkinson, long-time business partner with the legendary designer Tony Duquette, whose estate and jewelry collection he manages, is also an interior designer, and author of several books on Tony Duquette. He lives in Los Angeles.
Our signature use of laboratory-grown and created gemstones are of the highest quality and durability, designed to last a lifetime and beyond. Every laboratory-grown and created gemstone is carefully selected for its beauty and optical qualities, determined by its brilliance, colour, clarity, hardness, durability and pricing. The gemological composition and chemical structure of the stones we use can be identical (known as synthesised) or different (known as simulated) to its natural mined counterparts.
From the rough stone, it is then cut, faceted, polished and set painstakingly by hand using traditional artisan techniques.
For almost all of our simulated diamond creations, it is possible to custom-made for you in laboratory-grown synthesised diamonds, or recycled natural mined diamonds. Please contact bespoke@anabelachan.com for more information.
PRECIOUS METALS GLOSSARY
24k gold
Gold purity content is categorized using the karat system. Pure gold is 24k, it is extremely soft, it bends, warps and scratches easily making it an unlikely metal for jewellery that needs to retain its shape.
18k gold
18 karat gold is made up of 75% gold and 25% alloy. This type of gold is referred to as 18 karat because 18 out of the 24 parts that make up the gold are pure gold. 18K gold is usually the most pure form of gold used for rings, watches and other wearable jewellery.
14k gold
14 karat gold is made up of 58.3% gold and 41.7% alloy, or 14 out of 24 parts gold. 14K gold is a popular gold for jewellery, its colour is slightly less saturated and intense than 18 karat gold, with greater durability and affordability.
18k gold vermeil
18k gold vermeil is a 2-3microns thick coating of 18k gold on sterling silver, usually 10-times the thickness of standard plating for greater durability, hardness and affordability.
Rhodium vermeil
Rhodium is a member of the platinum family, and rhodium vermeil is an electroplated coating of rhodium on sterling silver. Rhodium is a silvery-white, hard and corrosion-resistant precious metal that reflects 80% of light, giving one of the best sheens achievable on white gold or sterling silver jewellery.
Recycled Aluminium
Our Aluminium Blooms Collection pioneers the use of recycled aluminium refined from soda cans, a lightweight silvery-white metal that can be cast into fine jewellery creations through the artisanal method of lost-wax casting. Aluminium can be coloured into a wide spectrum of hues through the process of anodising and physical vapour deposition as used in the automobile and horology industries.
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We do not offer refunds on our creations purchased in person. We are happy to exchange or offer a credit note for unworn items with security tags untouched within 7 days of in-store purchase.
Refunds for online orders can be requested within 14 days of the date of delivery, and exchanged within 30 days from the date of despatch. If you choose to exchange your item outside of the 14 day refund policy, a refund will not be offered for the exchanged item unless the product is faulty. Please kindly note a return shipping fee of £30 will be deducted from the refund amount/credit note.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept returns of pierced jewellery. This is for hygiene reasons and doesn't affect your statutory rights. We cannot accept items that have been engraved, personalised or altered.
For full information on our returns policy, please read our full RETURNS POLICY for details about our returns procedure.
Thank you for choosing an Anabela Chan Joaillerie creation. In order to preserve your jewel over time we suggest taking a few precautions in using and maintaining it.
We advise using a very soft brush and tepid soapy water to clean your jewellery regularly, even at times you are not wearing it. Please wipe it with a jewellery cloth we provide with every purchase after cleaning.
You are welcome to bring or post your creations to us annually to have them complimentary checked and professionally cleaned.
We suggest removing your creations before going to sleep, playing any sport, washing your hands, swimming or using corrosive materials. Avoid contact with perfume, alcohol, cosmetics, ammonia, chlorine and extreme temperature changes.
Prevent damage or loss of your creations by storing them individually in their original box or pouch with anti-tarnish stick intact after wearing them. Please be advised that contact with other jewellery pieces could cause scratches.
If your jewellery suffers any impact, the stone setting may become compromised and may need to be checked.
Please be sure to check that the clasps and safety catches on bracelets and necklaces close properly.
If you have any concerns, you should not wear your creation until you have had it checked in our atelier. We hope you enjoy wearing our unique and joyful creations for many years to come.