March 28, 2018: Luxury watch and jewelry brand, Chopard, revealed that from July 2018 it will use 100% Ethical Gold in its jewellery and watches.
The brand defines “Ethical Gold” as gold acquired from responsible sources, verified as having met international best practice environmental and social standards. Chopard gold will be responsibly sourced from one of two traceable routes:
1. Artisanal freshly mined gold from small-scale mines participating in the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA), Fairmined and Fairtrade schemes.
2. RJC Chain of Custody gold, through Chopard’s partnership with RJC-certified refineries.
To further increase its contribution in artisanal gold miners’ improvement initiatives and therefore contribute to a further growth of volumes of ethically extracted gold, Chopard joined SBGA (Swiss Better Gold Association) in 2017.
To begin with, Chopard’s new High Jewellery Green Carpet Collection pieces presented at Baselworld are exclusively made from Fairmined gold, as well as the High Horlogery L.U.C Full Strike watch and the Happy Palm watch.
In 2013, Chopard decided to directly invest in artisanal gold, to bring more artisanal gold to the market. By providing financial and technical resources in partnership with the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), Chopard helped a number of small scale mines to achieve Fairmined certification. This allows small scale mining communities to sell their gold at a premium price while ensuring mining is undertaken within strict environmental and social conditions. Chopard also helped establish new trade routes from the mines they source from in South America, bringing traceable products into Europe and providing further financial income into local communities.
