Ancient Crafts, Modern Challenges | A report for the coloured gemstone industry

The paper series ‘Ancient Crafts, Modern Challenges’ was launched today by the CGWG, a group uniting world-leading jewellery makers and coloured gemstone mining companies around shared sustainability commitments, to shed light on the coloured gemstones industry.

The publication of this paper series follows the launch, earlier this year, of the Gemstones and Jewellery Community Platform, a unique, digital learning and capability building initiative to catalyse positive change for the sector, from within. The Platform is freely available to all companies who are part of the gemstone and jewellery industry, from mining through to cutting and polishing, trading, and retailing.

For many centuries, gemstones have been sought out, bought, sold, coveted, treasured, and used as pivotal expressions of cultural and individual identity. They reach their apogee of value as brilliantly cut and polished pieces, wrought together with precious metals and other fine materials, sustaining the livelihoods of millions of workers and craftspeople around the world along their path.

The paper series ‘Ancient Crafts, Modern Challenges’ traces the journey of coloured gemstones from formation and discovery through to mining and recovery, trading, cutting and polishing, and retail, and examining how the coloured gemstone sector is governed. Each paper shows what gemstones mean to the people involved in their extraction and production, and the impacts, for miners, workers, their communities, and their natural environment. By painting a clear picture of the realities of coloured gemstones, the papers point the way forward for effective, pragmatic responsible sourcing.

The first paper in this series, “Hands that Dig, Hands that Feed: Lives Shaped by Coloured Gemstone Mining” was published today. Historically dominated by small scale ‘artisanal’ mining, using basic tools and with little infrastructure, gemstone mining is changing as bigger and more modern players enter the sector. That’s not a change that suits everyone. The paper explores this trend and addresses the benefits and drawbacks of different types of mining and what these mean for the communities who rely on this ancient activity.

The following papers cover subsequent stages in the supply chain, and the final paper examines governance in the sector. The goal of this paper series is to equip the reader with relevant knowledge on an industry that is often seen as mysterious, reveal its important role in livelihoods the world over, and to enable joint action to enhance the sector’s social and environmental performance where needed.

The papers present the varying perspectives of different groups within the sector, including miners, traders, retailers, and many other stakeholders. It points towards opportunities for improvement in the sector where they exist, while recognising the existing systems that work well. While the articles highlight the emergent expectation for greater transparency and corporate accountability, they also remind us of the need to respect the traditions and crafts of coloured gemstone mining and the relationships that have been built over hundreds of years.

Dr Assheton Carter of TDi Sustainability and co-author of the series comments, “The coloured gemstones sector is not only fascinating, but also complex. As expectations on sustainability, responsible sourcing, and transparency increase, it is important to understand how the coloured gemstones sector works from the mine through to the high street. The paper series “Ancient Crafts, Modern Challenges’ aims to identify and educate industry players on how to address the challenges they face, and also the opportunities for positive change. There are many preconceptions on how the gemstones supply chain operates. The aim of these papers is to give the industry clarity on this. A better understanding of the reality of the situation is the first step towards truly responsible sourcing.”