Recycled Gold & Silver Jewellery: The Beauty of Reusing Precious Metals

Recycling gold, silver, and other precious metals presents a sustainable alternative to the environmentally intensive practice of mining new materials. These metals can be melted down and repurposed multiple times without degrading their quality, which gives an effective solution to conserve resources and reduce ecological footprints. As the demand for ethical and sustainable practices grows, many jewellery brands are starting to choose recycled metals. This prevents the need for new mining but also capitalizes on existing materials. Below, we list repurposed jewellery from discarded and old metals, a luxury brand's transition to fully recycled metals, to gold extracted from computers, and silver reclaimed from X-ray films, all within responsibly produced collections.

PANDORA

Recycled Gold & Silver

Pandora, a globally popular Danish jewellery brand, is known for its quality craftsmanship and hand-finished pieces. The brand is currently undergoing an important transition, aiming to produce all its jewellery exclusively from recycled gold and silver by 2025. Given the sustainable nature of these precious metals, which can be recycled multiple times, Pandora seeks to become fully sustainable and environmentally friendly, following the standards of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). This initiative includes plans to avoid new mining practices, which is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 58,000 metric tons. By doing so, it marks a major sustainable step forward for one of the world's largest jewellery brands.

(Image credit: Pandora Jewellery Collection)

PRADA

Post-consumer Gold

Prada, the internationally recognised Italian luxury fashion house, has recently launched its first completely recycled and sustainable fine jewellery collection named Eternal Gold. This conscious line includes bracelets, chains, earrings, necklaces, and pendants all made from recycled gold. Prada has announced full transparency in its processes, stating that the gold is sourced from post-consumer precious objects and industrial gold scraps from jewellery manufacturing. Additionally, some of the gold is recycled from electronic appliances as part of their strategy towards environmental protection and the avoidance of new gold mining, which also helps to protect the labour rights of miners.

(Image credit: Prada Eternal Gold Collection)

DELL

Computer Motherboard Gold

Dell, an American technology company known for its global computer services, unexpectedly entered the jewellery market in 2018 with a line made from recycled gold sourced from motherboards. This project, in partnership with actress Nikki Reed and her conscious jewellery brand, Bayou With Love, represents an industry-first attempt to create sustainable jewellery with a unique computer twist. The initiative involved collecting unwanted electronic devices and repurposing the gold into fine jewellery pieces such as limited edition rings, earrings, and other small items, unveiling Dell’s commitment to innovation, responsibility, and sustainability in unconventional ways.

(Image credit: Dell x Nikki Reed Collection)

KINRADEN

Recycling Old Metals

Kinraden is a sustainable jewellery brand from Denmark, representing conscious luxury with its handcrafted gold and sterling silver pieces certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council. The brand is dedicated to using recycled materials and avoids any chemical processes, sourcing only responsibly obtained old gold and silver. Kinraden includes other circular economy-friendly products, such as upcycled wooden elements sourced from the production of wind instruments in Tanzania, in their planet-friendly method of producing ethically recycled jewellery.

(Image credit: Kinraden Recycled Jewellery)

SO-LE STUDIO

Discarded Metals

Maria Sole Ferragamo, a jewellery artist and entrepreneur who is the great-granddaughter of the famous Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo, heads SO-LE Studio. She repurposes upcycled brass shavings and recycled gold and silver, along with leather scraps, to create unique upcycled jewellery. Through her designs, she aims to give profound new life and meaning to discarded unconventional materials, keeping these materials in circulation and contributing to environmental sustainability with each piece crafted.

(Image credit: Maria Sole Ferragamo So-Le Studio)

886 ROYAL MINT

Recycled X-Ray Silver

The Royal Mint is known to be the oldest official coin maker in the United Kingdom, established in 886. They create sustainable heirloom jewellery using recycled gold and silver. The Royal Mint claims to have been the home of precious metals for more than 1100 years. Recently, they introduced silver from an unexpected source—medical X-ray films, which contain potential silver. They use X-ray films no longer needed by hospitals and bound for landfill to extract silver. This incredible process repurposes old X-rays and electronics into jewellery pieces, contributing to the Mint's goal of producing environmentally positive, sustainable precious metals.

(Image credit: 886 The Royal Mint X-Ray Films Silver Collection)

Recycled jewellery is a fascinating and impactful way to preserve natural resources while keeping precious metals in circulation. By repurposing existing materials, the jewellery industry can maintain the high quality and luster of its products without further straining the environment through new mining operations. This supports sustainable practices within the industry for a greater positive impact on the environment. With each piece of recycled jewellery, we witness the creative and ecological potential of keeping these valuable resources in a continuous loop of use and reuse.