We hand-pick our materials based on their sustainability, beauty and environmental friendliness, making each of our pieces easy to love.
STEP ONE
Our metal suppliers purchase pre-loved gold in the form of unwanted jewellery and jewellery processing elements. This 100% recycled precious metal is then refined to make mill products such as casting grain.
STEP TWO
Our suppliers are SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) Certified, meaning they hold the credentials for the responsible sourcing of precious metals. This certification doesn't just cover the use of recycled metals, it also governs a range of business practices related to sustainability and ethical working conditions too.
STEP THREE
Jewellery casting is an art form that goes back thousands of years. Since at least 1400 BC, artisans have been pouring molten gold into different moulds. After the gold solidifies, it’s carefully broken free of the mould and expertly sculpted into beautiful pieces of jewellery. The MATILDE artisan jewellers keep this tradition as beautifully sustainable as possible using 100% recycled gold.
STEP FOUR
Though we love to use traditional methods of production, technology has also allowed for sustainable jewellery processes to be more dynamic than ever. We use 3D printing, detailed CAD designs and the lost wax process to heat the products to extreme temperatures to create our castings, which will be filled with beautiful molten recycled gold.
Did you know that the process of lost wax casting, or investment casting, is still the most reliable and accurate means of reproducing intricate shapes in precious metals with the fine detail of an original pattern? The method actually dates back to the first civilisations in the Near East and to a mix of early religion, art and metallurgy!
“Ever since I started researching the jewellery industry, specifically the diamond industry, the more I realised how little I knew about the origin of the stones in any of my own jewellery. Where was it mined? How many people did it go through? How did it get from its original place to me? And I realised I didn’t know the answer to most of the questions I had. We offer you a sustainable, traceable, identical alternative to the environmentally and socially harmful traditionally mined diamonds. An alternative that is not only kinder on the planet, but conflict-free, and identical in every way.”
- MATILDE, FOUNDER
Lab-Grown Diamonds are visually, chemically, and physically identical to mined Diamonds. Starting life as a small diamond seed, they are placed under High-Pressure, High Temperature (HPHT), simulating the geological conditions of natural diamond creation, but a fifth of the carbon emissions of mined diamonds.
After a few weeks, a rough diamond is grown, which is then cut and polished like any other diamond, ready to find its place in a piece of fine jewellery.
Not only are Lab-Grown Diamonds 100% certified and identical to mined diamonds, they are conflict-free and significantly less harmful to the environment too.
CUT
This refers to the dimensions, faces, symmetry and reflective properties of the stone.
Although they differ in size, all of our diamonds are Round Brilliant Cut. With 57 perfectly aligned facets, this cut allows for optimal scintillation and sparkle as the light travels through the stone.
COLOUR
From D-Z, the higher the grade (D), the more colourless the diamond is.
All the diamonds we use are colourless, and scaled between D - F. These are the highest grade available.
CARAT
The unit to measure the weight of the diamond. Our diamonds vary in size and weight depending on the style and design of the piece.
CLARITY
Depending on the different inclusions that are visible within the stone, this grading runs from F-I. All of our diamonds are VS Clarity with very slight inclusions, because there's beauty in imperfection.
Biodegradable: When exposed to air, microbes, light and moisture, it will break down to natural element.
Certified Wood: Made using paper that was sourced from responsibly managed mills and forests.
Local Fabrication: Meaning transit costs and freight emissions are cut as much as possible.
Compostable: Leaving no toxicity in the soil when disintegrating into natural elements in specific environments.
Our self-adhesive pockets (that carry all the important information that will get your order from us to you) are also recyclable and vegan.
Our jewellery boxes are made from paper that comes from recycled coffee cups, as well as our postcards, which are there to help inform you about our practices and how to care for your pieces. With our logo blind embossed, ensuring that they can go on to be recycled once more.
Our dust pouches are Fairtrade and made from premium, organic pre-washed canvas. Meaning they were produced in accordance to rigorous economic, environmental, and social standards.
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified: Meaning it is sourced from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly and sustainably.
Acid Free Paper: Made from cellulose fiber, the active pulp is eliminated during processing. When decomposing, the tissue and the stickers won’t leave behind any chemicals (lignin and sulfur).
Soy-based ink: An eco-friendly alternative to petroleum-based inks, made from soybeans, a renewable resource. Soy inks have low levels of VOCs, reducing air pollution during the drying process.
If we feel like any orders need some extra securing, we use our tape that is not only 100% recycled FSC and made from Soy-based inks, but it. Is also water-activated. Meaning that unlike “normal” tape made from gloss and wax which don’t break down in composting conditions and are not biodegradable, our water-activated tape is the ideal sustainable packaging alternative.
We hope you can find ways to reuse and repurpose all the elements of our packaging to continuously give it new life.
