Created in 2003 by the Pavan family, composed of a couple and their two children, OR DU MONDE is on a mission to provide people beautiful gems and diamonds of the Earth that have been ethically and sustainably sourced. The main objective is to give people a sustainable and ethical alternative to the current jewellery industry.
The majority of the diamonds and other precious gems are mined under horrendous human rights violations. OR DU MONDE set themselves the challenge to change the current status quo, and decided to start by being completely transparent in terms of where their gemstones and diamonds come from, and who exactly extracted them. Plus, all of the diamonds and gemstones OR DU MONDE are traceable with a certified country of origin.
As you may have already seen from some of my previous blog posts, I have a bit of a thing for French labels, such as my Ultimate Guide on French Vegan Shoes, and you may have seen my previous partnerships with different French brands on my Instagram (@marta_canga) too. And this may not come as a surprise, but this beautiful company is also dedicated to promote the French know-how. All jewellery pieces are crafted in their Parisian workshop and they offer free international delivery to all European countries too!
WHY USING RECYCLED GOLD
I already touched upon the topic of recycled silver over in this article: Ethical and Affordable Jewellery, but I never went into detail as to recycled gold so here goes!
OR DU MONDE only use recycled metals such as recycled gold for all of their jewellery. The reason behind this is because of the reduced environmental impact that this has. I discovered from them that in fact, there is enough gold on the planet to meet the needs of the jewellery industry for the next 50 years. How crazy is this?
To extract gold from the rock, cyanide is commonly used to separate the pure gold from the rest of the minerals, thus causing a great deal of damage to the living conditions of local people and destroying whole ecosystems. Just as a fun fact, gold is actually extremely polluting: in order to get just 3 grams of gold, that involved 1500 litres of wasted water, 10 grams of mercury, 100 grams of cyanide and 5 tonnes of mining waste. Clearly not very green as an industry and hence the need for change…!
Up until now, OR DU MONDE has managed to recycle more than 100 kg of gold.
To extract this quantity of gold under normal circumstances, a normal business would have required 70 million litres of water, 400 kg of mercury, 6.000 tonnes of cyanide and 200.000 tonnes of mining waste (= equivalent to 1 Arc de Triomphe and 10 Eiffel Towers ! ). Ahhhh!!
To continue with this myriad of reasons why the jewellery industry needs more transparency and ethical practices, diamonds are – as you may know already – a rare and expensive resource that has led to a lot conflict in human history.
A Washington Post column on the environmental effects of gold mining noted that an 18-karat wedding band leaves behind 20 tons of ore and waste rock in the process, and the World Diamond Council reports that common environmental challenges from diamond mining include land disturbance, energy use, and biodiversity impacts. Diamond mining also sadly destroys the habitat of endangered species and is responsible for an untold number of human rights abuses past and present.
DEVA HOOP EARRINGS
In these images I am wearing the Deva Hoop earrings, a perfect match made in ethical heaven, as I was looking for a pair like this for such a long time! Mine are 30mm, which is perfect both for day and night occasions.
What’s best is that gold is actually eternal, meaning that once created it will stay on Earth with us forever. Because OR DU MONDE is committed to offering a sustainable alternative to traditional retailers, the gold used for these earrings could be sent back in to create a new piece of jewellery. This promotes as a consequence a more circular economy and allowing us to preserve the meaning of our old pieces.
THE NEW STORE
I don’t know if you are planning on going to Paris any time soon (I certainly do, I did go recently if you follow me on my YouTube channel with this video), but the good news is that the official boutique OR DU MONDE has now moved into the second district in Paris.
The new Boutique offers a friendly and cosy atmosphere to discover the jewellery collections and try on engagement rings & wedding rings. OR DU MONDE also collaborates with talented, local artisans in terms of new designs and decorations. This is an artistic cooperation and OR DU MONDE supports the traditional know-how of these people, following the philosophy of slow fashion and sustainability which is obviously something I love and support!
The new address is 7 rue Notre-Dame des Victoires, 75002, Paris. I have certainly bookmarked this for my next stop, definitely an indulging shop to get myself a treat or perhaps my next Christmas gift? (hint hint to my special person reading this blog post!)
OCCASION JEWELLERY
If you are looking for ethical engagement rings or wedding rings, OR DU MONDE is also a great destination! Offering delicate & dainty wedding rings, engagement rings and all kinds of accessories for your big day, do check our their range of ethical and sustainably sourced pieces here and here!
They also offer free, carbon neutral delivery, and their packaging is made from recycled materials too, so I think OR DU MONDE is a great idea for a birthday gift, an anniversary, or any kind of celebration.
And you? Are you looking for any kind of specific jewellery at the moment ? If so, I’d like to know!
I WAS WEARING
COSSAC JUMPER
ROUJE SABINA JEANS
MIREIA PLAYA SHOES
With love,
This paid has been kindly sponsored.
Photography by Alessia Chinazzo.
