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Values & Sources

Values 

  • To add beauty to the world — 
  • while respecting people and planet. This entails learning the origin of metals and gemstones, the conditions of mining and the impact on mining communities and on the earth. It also means paying people fairly. 
  • Advocating for transparency and traceability in the gold and gemstone supply chains. Murky supply chains have provided cover for oppressive practices and environmental damage. Please ask where your gold and gemstones are from, before you buy or accept a brand’s claims. Who has benefitted from the historically opaque supply chains of gold and gemstones? Generally speaking, it has not been the miners or mining communities. We can change that!
  • Continuing the beautiful metier of goldsmithing, by creating treasures in 18 karat and 22 karat gold — by hand.

 

ABOUT

Christina is a goldsmith and GIA certified Graduate Gemologist. She uses the finest materials, including traceable Fairmined gold, to make elegant, everyday jewelry.

A former human rights attorney, Christina uses Fairmined or certified post-consumer recycled gold and sources gemstones from known vendors. What definition of “recycled?” Please scroll down for more details; post-consumer scrap gold is preferred, but many refiners use a definition that falls far short of this. Always ask which definition of "recycled" gold applies before you buy!

Christina serves on the Board of Directors of Ethical Metalsmiths and as a volunteer writer for EM's The Source. One of the goals is to bring transparency to the jewelry industry's very complex supply chain.  Christina also serves on the Events Committee and the board of the NY Metro Chapter of the Women's Jewelry Association.

Christina was educated at Dartmouth College, New York University School of Law and the Gemological Institute of America. She is lucky to have learned goldsmithing at New York City’s 92nd Street Y and from master goldsmith Donna Distefano.

Christina Malle Jewelry is proud to announce that it became an official Fairmined Licensee in 2019.   Christina has been an advocate for traceability and transparency in the jewelry supply chain, and Fairmined provides those assurances.  

Sources

We source from known vendors - including Fairmined.

While there are no virtually no regulations on sourcing in the jewelry industry, we are determined to adhere to the highest standards. We know our vendors, who in turn ensure they pay a fare wage, reduce environmental impact, provide a safe facility for gemstone cutting, and are not buying from extra-legal sources.  If you have a gold piece you are not wearing, that very gold may be usable for a new piece.  Please ask!

The jewelry is

  • Made by hand in NYC with Fairmined and recycled gold and silver.  Gold is sourced from Hoover & Strong in Virginia (Fairmined and recycled), United Precious Metals in New York State (grain), Carrera, and Daniel Casting in NYC. Pure 24k grain is certified "recycled" by the refiner in the USA. The word “recycled” has different meanings, even among gold refiners; Hoover & Strong’s “recycled” gold is actually post-consumer, and therefore an appealing choice. Other refiners are technically correct when proclaim their gold “recycled,” according to the LBMA’s standards, but that gold is not necessarily post-consumer repurposed gold.Please ask your vendors, jewelers, tech and finance friends to explain precisely where the gold is from and how they know.
  • Gemstones and diamonds are from vendors who know their supply chains and avoid child labor and unfair labor practices. We are excited to showcase our first Moyo gemstones, which are mine-to-market from women gemstone miners in Tanzania. Who benefits when you buy a gemstone? Please ask!
  • We are a proud member of Ethical Metalsmiths. We have also joined with industry leaders in an effort to remove mercury from artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities. Christina serves on the board of directors of Ethical Metalsmiths and on the NY Metro Chapter board of the Women’s Jewelry Association.
  • Christina is happy to share what she has learned about sourcing and studio practices - either individually with clients or at professional gatherings.

To learn more, see the links below.

As consumers, we can all do our part by asking:

  • Where is the gold in this jewelry from?
  • Where are the gemstones from?
  • What were the implications for people and planet, of both mining and processing?
  • How do you know?