Bejeweled . The World of Ethical Jewelry

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.