Gorgeously Green Engagement Rings

As Valentine’s approaches, million’s of women will be thinking about the ring of their dreams. Every other TV commercial shows a woman being proposed to, however, many of those glittering gems could be blood diamonds – ugh!  I asked our wonderful Dream Team Wedding Expert, Sharon Naylor to point these soon-to-be-brides in the right direction:

Your gorgeous engagement ring, and your dream wedding rings (for both you and your groom), symbolize the eternity you’ll spend together. They’re a daily reminder of how lucky you are to love and be loved by your best friend, and they’re the only part of your wedding day that stays physically with you for as long as you both shall live. So you’ll probably want to make sure those rings haven’t killed some people.

That’s right…even though the movie Blood Diamond has been seen in the discount DVD bin at Target, the issue of conflict diamonds – best known as ‘blood diamonds’ for the violence and bloodshed funded by a corrupt diamond trade in some parts of the world – has most brides wisely wanting to avoid having blood on their hands. Literally. It’s not just bloody violence in wartorn areas or warlords terrorizing local populations, another enormous factor in a bride’s wish for eco-friendly rings is the ruination of the eco-system caused by some regions’ mining practices. Earth, air, water….all can be horrifyingly poisoned by diamond- and gold-mining.

There has to be a better way to get a ring, you might be thinking. And there is. We’re going to share with you some dazzling news from the green jewelry realm: You can get an engagement ring and wedding bands that have a clean record, and give you a clean conscience. Here’s how:

Diamonds: Get diamonds from ethical origins

Think of a diamond like a pedigree puppy. You need to know where it came from. Here are some of the world’s most respected diamond mining regions, for their strict adherence to environmentally-friendly rules.

• Canada. Real diamonds are mined from deep beneath the Canadian tundra, with government-required total respect for the environment and for the region’s indigenous peoples. Canada’s environmental laws are among the world’s strictest, and they apply not just to the mining process, but to the cutting and polishing of them, too. O Canada, you’re doing amazing things for brides and grooms!
• Namibia. The diamond mining industry in this southwest African country holds to the highest eco-friendly standards and promotes sustainability in the land. It also provides education and healthcare for many Namibian people, and they’re doing quite well at it. 30% of Namibia’s export revenue comes from their diamond trade.
• Colombia. The Choco region of this South American country is also a winner in fair trade and eco-friendly standards at its mining facilities.
• The United States. We have super-high standards of safety and environmental responsibility, and they apply to raw diamonds we acquire from the sources above, then cut and polish ourselves using eco-friendly methods.

Faux diamonds

Science is with us now, and many brides and grooms are choosing Moissanite stones for their rings. This diamond-lookalike is made from silicon carbonite, a man-made yet natural substance that experts say is far less expensive than real diamonds, has all the sparkle, and is more durable. Check www.Moisonnite.com for more info.Check, also Adia Diamonds (www.AdiaDiamonds.com) to see if you love the looks of this lab-made, natural stone that experts say has the exact same faceting and structure of real diamonds.

Gemstones: Colored gemstones are all the rage right now, as Kate Middleton brings the sapphire back into style. At Brilliant Earth (www.brilliantearth.com), you’ll find the company’s True Blue™ Sapphires, which are imported from regions of the world that practice ethical gemstone mining, shaping and polishing and practice fair trade. Check out these three ethical origins of True Blue™ Sapphires:

• Australia. They have some of the strictest mining regulations in the world, with government mandated zero-impact on the environment. Get this: the government requires mining companies to pay a deposit before mining for sapphires, and then they get their money back when they restore the land to its same or better condition. Someone should make that universal law.
• Malawi. Their eco-conscious mines employ many local workers, and they pay above-average wages, and provide healthcare and education to all employees, creating a sustainable culture.
• Sri Lanka. Mining agencies here run by strict eco-friendly policies, they provide healthcare and education, and it’s law that they cannot hire anyone under age 18.

Lab-grown gemstones are a hot choice, with stones in muted natural tones or in vibrant shades.

Go Heirloom

What better way to avoid conflict diamonds and spare the earth any mining at all than to wear an heirloom stone passed down to you by a parent,

grandparent, in-law or other relative. Heirloom jewelry pieces may be taken to a jeweler to have those phenomenal, faceted stones re-set into new ring settings. Speaking of which….

Recycled Metals

Precious metals such as platinum, white gold and yellow gold can be recycled with no degradation in their metal’s strength or quality. Metal and gold mining is detrimental to the earth, with – get ready to shudder! – an estimated 20 tons of ore needed to make one ring. Gold mines release cyanide and mercury into water sources. And people die in mines from time to time! Of course we want to use recycled and re-refined precious metals! So where do you find them? Check www.greenkarat.com as a great resource, and www.brilliantearth.com .

If you want to check out non-recycled metal for its pedigree, go to www.NoDirtyGold.org to get a list of retailers who only buy from responsible gold mining operations and ethical sources. Tiffany & Co. is one of them. So if Grandma is handing down to you her Tiffany wedding band, you get double the points!

Again, heirloom rings in precious metals are a loving form of recycling, important to both you and the giver, saving the earth and also saving you big money at the same time. The average wedding ring costs several hundred dollars for men, and sometimes over $1500 for women. That’s a pretty good motivator to accept that heirloom ring, too.

Here’s an additional tip for going green with your rings:

Shop at Sophie’s faves:

In her book Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life, Sophie lists some of her favorite resources for eco-conscious jewelry. Here are some of her top picks:

• Earthwise Jewelry (www.leberjewelry.com), a provider of beautiful rings made with conflict-free diamonds, fairly traded gemstones and eco-conscious materials.
• Green Karat (www.greenkarat.com), a specialist in conflict-free diamonds.
• Brilliant Earth (www.brilliantearth.com), also a source of conflict-free diamonds, as well as ethical origin gemstones. More on that in a sec.
• Moonrise (www.moonrisejewelry.com), which Sophie loves for their ethical sourcing and fair labor.

[Inspired by what you’ve only just started to learn about ethical sourcing, fair labor and clean mining in the diamond and gold industries? Sign the pledge at www.nodirtygold.org.]

As I was researching this story, I found out from TheWeddingReport.com that 49% of brides and grooms would go to great lengths to get an eco-friendly engagement or wedding ring, and 45% said it was somewhat important, that they’d go green if it was the ring they loved. That’s a nice majority, so we’ll take it. Now I’d love your input: would you accept an heirloom ring like Kate Middleton did? Would you turn down a gorgeous ring if it’s not eco-friendly? Would you wear a wedding ring made of wood? It exists. Tell me if you love the idea, and I’ll share details with you next time!

Check out Sharon’s fantastic website, for more wedding tips and ideas.