Ethical jewellery policy

Leblas is committed to sourcing the finest materials mined and created only through sustainable practices.

We look at all options available to us to find the most socially, environmentally and culturally responsible sources and are committed to explaining our choices to you.

Leblas exclusively uses 100% recycled gold, silver and platinum, sourced specifically from a carefully selected single refinery.

Recycled Gold, Silver and Platinum

There are several ways of mining precious metal, some of which we outline below. Many of these cause excessive environmental damage and do not provide adequate working conditions for miners.

In open pit gold mining, the ground is blasted to create huge, open-pit mines. Twenty tonnes of rock must sometimes be extracted to make a single one-ounce gold ring. To remove the gold, the rock is treated with cyanide solution which can contaminate the ground water. Many mines and governments are working to lessen the impact of this practice on the environment but the use of cyanide remains necessary and are not always managed well in developing countries.

Artisanal, Small-scale mining (ASM) both directly and indirectly creates livelihoods for more than 100 million people. Small-scale gold mining provides jobs in remote villages, helping to fight poverty and preventing forced economic migration to urban areas.

But this mining may also involve considerable risks for the environment and people's health. The best working conditions for small-scale miners are not always ensured. Small-scale mining can be a sustainable activity, but is unfortunately mostly carried out with little knowledge of environmental and health hazard.

Recycled metals. Gold, platinum and silver have qualities that mean they are durable and hardwearing and therefore most of the gold ever mined still exists above ground. Recycled gold supports 23% of the global annual gold demand. Jewellery manufacturers widely use recycled metals to support the demand of the jewellery market, melting together new and old metals from multiple sources.

At Leblas, we believe there are enough gold reserves above ground to support our business. We source from a single refinery that refines 100% recycled gold, silver and platinum specifically for us. The precious recycled metal is kept segregated from all other precious metals and is transferred directly to our workshops to be made into Leblas jewellery.

Future possibilities. Leblas may consider sourcing from ethical mines in the future when the processes and management are robust and clearly defined. There are also a number of projects successfully establishing artisanal based cyanide and mercury free processes. At Leblas, we are watching these as they progress and if appropriate for us in the future, we may source from them.

Leblas is also following with interest vapour deposition and gold phytomining, two new processes using vacuum heating, plant properties and nanotechnology to reduce mining waste and the use of cyanide.

Traceable Precious stones

Diamonds

Leblas sources diamonds from trusted suppliers. Where possible we obtain Canadian stones as a diamond extracted from the Canadian mines and cut at an identified and assessed establishment follows a true transparent route.

Where we are unable to obtain Canadian diamonds our stones are always Kimberly certified.

Some of our products have an independent diamond certificate which will be specified within the product descriptions. The 4C's of your diamond will be detailed within the certificate; here is an example of a certification document. Click here to view an example

The Canadian Diamonds that we source are also regulated by the Canadian Diamond Code of Conduct.

All diamonds meet the requirements of the Kimberley Process, an initiative by governments and the industry to stop the flow of so-called conflict diamonds, rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance war against legitimate governments.

Under the system of warranties that was formulated by the World Diamond Council, all buyers and sellers of both rough and polished diamonds must make the following affirmative statement on all invoices:

The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and in compliance with United Nations resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds."

At Leblas, we believe that the Kimberley process is a good start but that improvements must be made in the traceability of diamonds from mine, cutting and polishing, through diamond bourses to wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers. We believe Canadian certified diamonds offer the clearest traceability and safeguard of ethical and environmental standards at this point.

Other gemstones

Leblas sources other gemstones through a number of other trusted companies. They ensure that the stones are closely tracked from mine to market to ensure that every gem has been handled according to strict protocols. The protocols include environmental protection of the mining sites as well as fair labour practices at the cutting and jewellery factories.

Chains and fastenings

At Leblas, we offer two types of chain and fastenings:

Some of our chain is hand crafted by our artisans in Spain. This chain is made from 100% recycled gold. We will inform you in the product description for each collection which chains are handmade. Our gold sequin collection is one such example.

Chain and fastenings for other collections are sourced from a factory using 85% to 99% recycled gold.

Packaging

Leblas uses recycled paper as well biodegradable inks and paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council wherever we can. For more information, visit the FSC website.

At Leblas, we endeavour to use as little energy as possible and recycle as much as we can to reduce waste.