Pippa’s Journey with Gold
I have spent my career travelling the world, working with master craftsmen and diverse communities to help redefine what ethical jewellery can look like. My journey has taken me from Bolivia and Colombia to Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, and Palestine—places rich in cultural heritage and artisanal skill and often impacted by conflict and economic fragility.
Each collaboration tells its own story—rooted in the traditions of its land, shaped by the hands of the artisans, and echoing the feel of the earth from which the materials are drawn. Yet no matter the setting, one principle remains constant: a commitment to creating jewellery that respects both people and the planet.
Gold has always been at the heart of my designs. But with that comes the responsibility to ask where it comes from, who is impacted by its extraction, and how we can do better. The reality is, it’s not always simple. But I want to share where we are, what we’ve learned, and where we still hope to go.
Gold is seductive and sensual, it neither rusts nor corrodes. When it’s pure, the warmth and softness draws you to touch. Its quality is simple and beautiful. Thus, beauty has ruled the stock market, becoming the lifeboat during financial storms and global uncertainty. The price of gold raises with insecurity, political storms, and conflict.
Gold has been connected to human culture for millennia. It is still as tightly wound with our fate as ever. Throughout time, and in many cultures, gold has served the same purpose – to be insurance, a safety net; particularly to women in marriage. Gold can be melted down in any emergency to provide cash. Yet, we cannot eat it or drink it, it does not give us shelter. It’s an extraordinary relationship we humans have forged with gold. But it is finite and will run out – the mountains and rivers will run dry of gold in the near future. The question is – then what?
Bolovia
In 2009, I began working with a mine, Cotopata, in Bolivia. This mine became the first internationally recognised fair-trade gold mine in the world. I supported their work, paying a premium for the gold to help support the mine through often expensive changes needed to obtain and retain their certification. Fair-trade, fair-mined, and eco-gold use a premium to incentivise the miners to comply and make the necessary changes to maintain their certification, this increases the cost of gold for us – and in the end, the client. Unfortunately, this mine no longer holds its Fair-Mine or Fairtrade certification due to lack of traction and demand for Fairtrade Gold, and the mine’s feasibility. The traceability of the materials we use and finding the cleanest gold sources in the countries we work in are an ongoing journey. Our work in Bolivia is a prime example of the volatility and uncertainty of sourcing clean gold.
Colombia
In 2022, I launched Together Forever—my first collection made entirely with ethical, river-panned Gold and alluvial emeralds from Colombia. For the past three years, we’ve proudly partnered with the Association of Responsible Miners (ARM), who source Gold from women panners working in the lush tropical forests of Chocó.
These women lift gravel from the river using traditional wooden pans, skilfully separating Gold without chemicals, machinery, or environmental damage. This method is eco-clean and carbon-neutral. It’s part of a subsistence economy, where the income supports health, education, and family livelihoods.
I met Ana Siera, a passionate advocate for these women and their rights, through ARM. Ana now works as our Colombian collaboration liaison. All the Gold used in our Colombian pieces is purchased through ARM, and I pay a premium on this Gold to support a rewilding project in an area devastated by mercury pollution. I’m very proud to launch our second eco-clean collection made in Colombia on Earth Day, April 22nd.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan has long been a place of inspiration and collaboration for me. Traditionally, we have worked in 18kt Gold Vermeil there, but this winter, I wanted to honour our artisans’ growing skill by introducing solid 18kt Gold into our work.
My business partner Mohammad and I invited master goldsmith Istad to train our team in the techniques and temperament of this new material. Working with Gold requires patience, experimentation, and deep sensitivity to its properties—how it responds to heat, how it shapes and sets.
Our first 18kt Gold capsule collection is a celebration of this learning process and of the incredible talent of the artisans we work with in Afghanistan.
We currently source our Gold in Afghanistan from the gold markets, which means the direct source is unknown. While this part of our supply chain is still evolving, transparency and traceability remain our guiding goals. In the future, we hope to work with a small mine that may be putting international standards in place.
India
I’ve worked with partners in India for over 30 years. It's been an honour to create jewellery alongside goldsmiths like Sushil, who comes from a long lineage of goldsmiths. For him, working with Gold is as intuitive as breathing—his skills are family heirlooms passed down through generations.
Our workshops in India now work with 90% recycled Gold, and I’m proud of this shift. Like many aspects of ethical production, it’s a journey, and we’re always looking for ways to do better without compromising craftsmanship or creativity.
The rising price of Gold has made this journey more complex. Ethical sourcing already demands time, transparency, and relationships built on trust. As Gold becomes more expensive, the challenge is balancing these values with the rising cost of materials and the financial pressures on small artisan workshops. I continue to try. To ignore the impact of how we source is to ignore the hands and lands behind every piece we make.
Our journey with Gold is not perfect—some regions are still on the path to transparency, and not every source meets every standard we aim for. But we are committed. To listening, to learning, and to sharing our process honestly.
