RAPAPORT… Fairtrade activist and U.K. jeweler Greg Valerio has introduced a new brand that is touted as luxury jewelry “made from the most socially conscious, environmentally responsible and desirable metals and gems on the planet,” according to a company statement.
Valerio’s online ethical fair trade jewelry brand offers designs that seek “to create a harmonious and elegant union between the land, the miner, the jeweler and the final customer.” The first collection is a bridal range created from certified Fairtrade gold & silver, traceable diamonds and gemstones.
Formerly with the U.K.’s CRED Jewelry in 2009, Valerio previously worked alongside Fairtrade International, The World Jewellery Confederation, 16 August Union (Greenland) and with other community-based precious metals and diamond mining groups in Africa.
“Having criss-crossed the globe over the last twenty years, I have learned so much about ethical jewelry and I want to discover more. I have only begun to scratch the surface of the ethical transformation of the jewelry world,” according to a blog post on Valerio’s website.