Top 10 independent ethical jewellery brands.

Appearing on the cover of American Vogue and favoured by Alisters from Kendall Jenner to Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley, New York Citybased Brazilian designer **Ana Khouri**’s collections are created exclusively with fairmined 18carat gold and platinum, traceable diamonds and gemstones from Zambia.
Awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for services to ethical jewellery production and charity, Londonbased Pippa Small creates striking necklaces, rings and earrings. Working with indigenous and traditional craftspeople from around the world, Small has collaborated with the world’s first registered Fair trade gold mine in Bolivia; the esteemed Fair trade company MADE based in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi; and the prestigious charity Turquoise Mountain in Afghanistan. In Burma, she has helped train and employ artisans to promote traditional skills, and has recently worked with Syrian refugees to design collections. Small has been awarded the Ethical Jeweller of the Year .

Quazi Design: handmade by local women in Swaziland.


Quazi design uses discarded magazines to create beads for its unique jewellery range, which is handmade by local women in Swaziland. Each artisan is employed full time with a permanent contract, giving them job security and a living wage, empowering them through skill sharing and a living wage. A founding member of SWIFTSwaziland fair tradethe boutique is an active advocate for fair trade principles.

AideMemoire Jewelry: queer womanowned small business.


Seattlebased AideMemoire Jewelry is a queer womanowned small business focusing on handmade, ecofriendly, and conflictfree everyday fine jewelry, wedding bands, and engagement rings. Crafting pieces in a socially and environmentally responsible way, the brand only obtains its materials from limitedsupply, 100% recycled precious metals, conflictfree diamonds (natural recycled, Canadian or Australian, and labgrown) and ethical fairtrade gemstones. The boutique goes beyond the Kimberley Process in sourcing its diamonds to ensure that they truly are conflictfree and even donates to nonprofits.

Wald Berlin: fine jewelry featuring seashells, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals.


Given the stamp of approval by the likes of Marion Cotillard and blogger Leandra Medine, Berlinbased jewelers Wald Berlinset up by former model Joyce Binneboese and fashion stylist Dana Roskispecialises in fine jewelry featuring seashells, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. Committed to ethical production, each pieces is handmade by Wald Berlin’s “fair trade mums collective”a group of unemployed mothers and grandmothers, many of whom live in towns across Germany where employment opportunities are scarce.

Melissa Joy Manning ’Green Certified’ California studio.


A team of inhouse artists at Melissa Joy Manning studio creates beautiful pieces from recycled silver, 14carat gold and responsiblysourced stones. The ‘Green Certified’ California studio is committed to using recycled paper, soy ink, energyefficient heating and cooling processes, maintains a zerowaste policy and carbon offsets each shipment.

Agua de Oro: gemstones and precious metals from conflictfree zones.


Swiss jewellers Agua de Oro sources gemstones and precious metals from conflictfree zones, offers Fair Trade gold and in its Oceane collection features cultured diamonds with a percentage of each sale donated to ocean charities.

Emma Aitchison: Londonbased responsible luxury jewellery brand


With environmentalism at the core of her studio, Londonbased jeweler Emma Aitchison uses 100% recycled silver and gold where possible, Fairtrade metals and avoids the harsh chemicals often used in the jewellery making process. The brand’s packaging is entirely recyclable, made out of organic cotton and recycled tape and the studio even donates one per cent of its profits to environmental charity 1% For The Planet.

Arabel Lebrusan: oneofakind items from Spain.


With a beautiful selection of handcrafted and bespoke pieces, Arabel Lebrusan works with artisans across Spain to create her oneofakind items. All the metals and stones are sustainably and ethically sourced, she has committed to using Fairtrade gold and avoids the harsh chemicals commonly used in jewellery making.

Sacet: 100% recycled metals and ethically labgrown diamonds.


Sacet uses 100% recycled metals and ethically labgrown diamonds for all of their pieces, from engagement rings and wedding bands to diamond earrings, necklaces, bracelets and pendants. The packaging is made with ecofriendly materials and every product is handfinished and custom made in an artisan workshop.