Socially Conscious Bling
Hey, hey, hey! How serendipitilicious is this?
Remember a few days ago when someone wrote in asking about a socially conscious way to acquire a diamond? And I said, "Well, I don't know, but I do know that robbing a jewelry store would probably be considered a socially unconscious way to acquire one, but you could always go on a cruise and steal one from a really loaded old dowager or something. Would that work for you?"
Just kidding! I did write some stuff that was basically meaningless, but lots of people had other actually good ideas. Remember that?
Well check it out: in the latest issue of Body + Soul (plus about five bucks) they have a Q & A column called "Spirit of Money" by Tracy Fernandez Rysavy who gets a question about that same thing!
She basically says everything you all already said (like the fact that a diamond is a beautiful symbol of love and fidelity, but can also "be a product of exploited workers, environmental degradation, armed conflicts, and human-rights abuses").
Rysavy says that you can buy responsibly mined diamonds by seeking out companies like GreenKarat (www.greenkarat.com), Leber Jeweler (leberjeweler.com), and Sumiche Jewelry Co., all of which trace their diamonds to point of sale, and have a commitment to ethical responsibility in the biz.
Jewelers of America (jewelers.org) have apparently adopted some principles around diamond dealing, so another option is to ask your own jeweler whether or not he or she has signed onto them.
And if you have any doubts, buy a used ring at an estate sale or auction!
Rock out on your bling, socially conscious people!
Remember a few days ago when someone wrote in asking about a socially conscious way to acquire a diamond? And I said, "Well, I don't know, but I do know that robbing a jewelry store would probably be considered a socially unconscious way to acquire one, but you could always go on a cruise and steal one from a really loaded old dowager or something. Would that work for you?"
Just kidding! I did write some stuff that was basically meaningless, but lots of people had other actually good ideas. Remember that?
Well check it out: in the latest issue of Body + Soul (plus about five bucks) they have a Q & A column called "Spirit of Money" by Tracy Fernandez Rysavy who gets a question about that same thing!
She basically says everything you all already said (like the fact that a diamond is a beautiful symbol of love and fidelity, but can also "be a product of exploited workers, environmental degradation, armed conflicts, and human-rights abuses").
Rysavy says that you can buy responsibly mined diamonds by seeking out companies like GreenKarat (www.greenkarat.com), Leber Jeweler (leberjeweler.com), and Sumiche Jewelry Co., all of which trace their diamonds to point of sale, and have a commitment to ethical responsibility in the biz.
Jewelers of America (jewelers.org) have apparently adopted some principles around diamond dealing, so another option is to ask your own jeweler whether or not he or she has signed onto them.
And if you have any doubts, buy a used ring at an estate sale or auction!
Rock out on your bling, socially conscious people!
Labels: Accessories
posted by PeaceBang at 4:38 PM
5 Comments:
There are those companies that will make a diamond from a deceased pet. You' have to ask them, but I'd imagine any reasonable amount of biomass would work. So if you have any organic mementos of courtship, they could turn into your wedding ring.
What a final image before I head off to sleep! Whoa!!
Eeeek!
(Cuddling my cats a bit closer, though with not nearly enough force to compress them into diamonds.)
Estate sales and consignment/vintage jewelery stores are great sources of nice pieces--just take them somewhere and make sure the settings are solid.
The diamonds made from deceased pets are a little funky--they don't look anywhere near colorless, for one thing, and look more like quartz or topaz than diamond. Yellow diamonds are trendy, though, and in a white setting can be very interesting.
Perhaps that former significant other would make some nice bling if compressed and exposed to tremendous heat. Even worse than at the college reunion ;)
It is probably best to focus on the positive. . . .
(((Estate sales and consignment/vintage jewelery stores are great sources of nice pieces--just take them somewhere and make sure the settings are solid. )))
That's what we did.
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