Creating a sustainable environment is becoming a critical part of living today. It is a call to action we have all been asked to take and we need to respond. A little will go a long way and the small steps will lead to greater strides.
It’s good to know that you can trust where you are sourcing your food, buying your coffee, and spending money for fun things. To know you can trust businesses, is crucial to preserving our beautiful green planet.
Here at Cynthia Britt, sustainability is taken with seriousness to add wellness to our mission. I take great pride in my own work and feel that every aspect of what I do should be reflected in all my actions and daily life.
I know first hand that the smallest things can be infused with so much power and our actions will make sustainability more than just a word, but a lifestyle in our every day.
Within my office space and my home life, I have created a near no waste zone. I don’t hold any trash cans to promote the idea that all that extra plastic between the waste baskets and plastic trash bags are not needed and not necessary. I email all receipts to avoid printing on paper. I keep my packing at minimum. All of my rings come in a ring box with their matching outer carton. There are no fancy big packaging. I don’t give bags either as most of the jewelry I make is a surprise, therefore going home with a bag is needless as they would have to be trashed immediately. I give all wedding bands in a velvet pouch. I love the velvet pouches as they’re reusable.
I bring that level of sustainability into my jewelry. I exclusively work with diamond manufacturers who are certified by the Responsible Jewelry Council, and who abide by the guidelines set forth by the Kimberly Process to protect basic human rights at mine locations. You can read more about our ethical diamond sourcing on Our Diamond page.
Cynthia Britt is committed to using only ethically and responsibly sourced diamonds.
By hand picking each diamond and gemstone for every client, I always know the origin of each stone, and I’m able to personally ensure that I uphold my promise to help advance responsible diamond sourcing practices around the world.
I have had many clients who come in with a question like that in mind and want to make sure that they know they are getting the most sustainably sourced diamonds. Often times I have had customers who wish to use their own pieces. Whether it is with old diamonds, metals or jewels, I gladly repurpose them into an entirely new and unique jewelry. My motto is whatever grandma gives you, take it!
Of these stories, most recently was a stunning diamond tennis bracelet brought in by one of our clients, Eve. The diamond tennis bracelet had been gifted to her from her grandmother’s old belongings. She brought it to me to have it sized for her wrist. She wanted to wear it without worrying about it slipping off ( to avoid the famous moment that tennis player Chris Evert had with her own bracelet; coining its name in jewelry history).
As I mentioned before, I don’t believe in waste so I put all unwanted gold jewelry to good use, creating Eve a small dainty flower bead ring to pair along with her now fitted bracelet.
Three diamond links were removed. Eve asked if I could make a dainty right hand ring for her using these three diamonds. So I suggested melting the three baskets and melting any other outdated heirloom gold jewelry that she had received and wasn’t wearing it in order to make the band section of her ring. I would then only use new metal to make the top section of her ring where the diamonds would be set.
Eve's Three Flower Beads Ring (right) was made using three diamonds from the removed links of her heirloom tennis bracelet (left).
Another instance of putting all unwanted gold and diamonds to good use is the beautiful example of a pair of contemporary gold and diamond drop earrings intended for Linda. Linda brought in a long gold and diamond necklace that belonged to her mother. She asked me to design and make glamorous diamond drop earrings using diamonds from her mother’s necklace. Each earring is comprised of 30 round brilliant cut diamonds set in three prongs, four prongs and various shaped settings. The earrings are set entirely from the diamonds that were in the necklace and there is still so much of the diamonds and gold left over.
Turning heirloom diamond necklace into a Diamond Drop Earrings for Linda
I know that everything has the potential to be reduced, reused, recycled and I’m looking to bring that into my workplace and home space. Home is where all the work starts. Working with businesses that practice sustainability is a good thing and at the same time what is equally, if not more, important is to personally practice in our own lives what we seek in other sustainable conscious businesses.
I take public transportation everyday for work. I always make sure I bring my own glass Mason jar when I get coffee from my favorite place. My own trash at home takes a very small footprint as I rinse out all containers and put it for recycling. Most of my waste is recycled.
Something else that is very important to living a sustainable life in my opinion is that I eat very little meat. I’m mostly vegetarian as I have found the benefits of its health effects but the fact that the waste produced by animals contributes to more carbon emitted in the atmosphere than all the carbon produced by factories in the world.
It should only be natural that we take all of the opportunities that we can to lessen the amount of carbon emissions that are put out in the world.
Sustainability should not be just a buzzword to generate business and then never practiced. I believe it should be something that is used in home, work, and the world. Once a day leads to every day and that can make the biggest transformation that this world needs to see. Here at Cynthia Britt Custom Jewelry, I Cynthia, with the rest of my team work to ensure the highest calibre of sustainability in work and in living, I call on all of you to join me in paving the way. Live a glamorously sustainable life!
Cynthia Britt
