Avid consumers might be more familiar with the term ‘fair trade’ within the food industry, such as the production of coffee and bananas. Less in terms of gemstones. While ethical behaviour in the purchase of food has already established itself in all strata of society, this trend is only just beginning in the jewellery trade. Most consumers are still little concerned about fair trade gemstones. 

What does fair trade mean in the gemstone trade?

Among other things, some basic factors are decisive in the gemstone trade.
Availability is an important criterion because gemstones are naturally occurring products that are not available in infinite quantities. Quality refers, on the one hand, to the product itself but, on the other, to the service provided by the provider. 

The quality of the gemstones is measured by their purity and colour, but also cut and polish play a role. It is about the original nature of the stone and its later processing. When determining the value, product availability and quality requirements come into play.

However, GEMHYPE.COM believes that fair trade gemstones must meet additional requirements. The following issues are also important:

 

• working and living conditions of the people involved
• Commercial terms
• Political and social conditions in the countries of origin 

For example, child labour is never acceptable and environmental aspects must also be taken into account. 

Fair trade begins in the extracting countries but does not end in Germany; the traditional profession of gemstone cutting is being threatened by cheap foreign producers. 

Low wages and mass production in relevant third countries have created an enormous price pressure. Including German gemstone cutters in the fair wages discussion is also part of the fair trade talk.

Buy gemstones on fair terms

Responsible consumers today want to buy perfectly sustainable products. Fair trade gemstones should not be radioactive or chemically treated, only electron beam radiation technology should be employed. Informed buyers do not want to support wars or political conflicts with the purchase of their jewellery.

Providers can only guarantee this through long-term and constantly controlled supply relationships.

Certain countries or regions cannot meet the requirements for fair trade and are therefore sanctioned. However, if products were bought before a sanction was issued, then these products will continue to be offered on the market. During the sanction period, however, no new goods are purchased from the region in question.

They currently include, for example:

• Myanmar (former Burma)
• Pakistan
• Afghanistan

Fair Trade gems with guarantee

GEMHYPE.COM supports fair trade through close relationships with suppliers. A clear specification of origin on the part of the suppliers is necessary to ensure that the products are purchased from conflict-free countries. This ensures a high degree of transparency.

Regular on-site inspections are subject to high quality standards, both products and working conditions are verified. This includes not only the fair payment of workers, but also the exclusion of child labour.

Thanks to the good relationships with business partners in the countries of origin, GEMHYPE.COM can keep a high stock of its products. The majority of the gemstones come from South American and African mines. Tanzania is an important location for fair gemstone trading on the African continent.

GEMHYPE.COM pays attention to the following criteria when selecting a product

• The safe livelihood of workers
• That living conditions are constantly being improved
• Social justice
• Fair pay
• Good working conditions
• Efficient extraction of resources
• Ecological approach
• Sustainable environmental protection measures

 
(Carl-Philip Arnoldi, Tansania)

Trading high-quality coloured gemstones and an impeccable trust for decades 

The trade of high-quality gemstones and diamonds usually takes place at trade fairs and on a face-to-face level. Fair conditions can be checked on site at the extraction and production sites. Only reliable sources of supply enable a vendor to guarantee all items offered. The processing conditions must also be checked in the production sites themselves 

The centres of gem processing are located in Sri Lanka, Jaipur, Bangkok and not least in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Genuine high quality can only be achieved by hand. The individual material conditions of natural gemstones and minerals can only be adequately taken into account with manual processing. The competence of the employees plays a key role here. 

Gemstones are extracted, produced and processed worldwide. The primary duty of fair trade is to narrow the recommended countries of origin.

Offers from unsafe or even sanctioned source countries cannot be adequately controlled. This can lead to a supply problem, because new sites are usually discovered accidentally and are only available in finite quantities. 

GEMHYPE.COM tries to work around this problem by closely cooperating with our partners. Our success has proven this approach to be right. Our gemstones come with a fairness guarantee.

 

 

GEMHYPE.COM. aims to change that with its sustainable and above all transparent trading strategy.
It is not just about the conditions for the extraction of gemstones, but also about their processing.
Since there are still few standardised certifications in this area, GEMHYPE.COM verifies everything on its own initiative. The mines themselves, the extracted products, the working conditions of the local people and the suppliers are all checked.
Transparency is top priority when selecting business partners in sanction-free production countries.