Santa Fe, NM February 3, 2017:
Reflective Jewelry announces the launch of Valerio Jewelry, the only Fairtrade Gold wedding and engagement ring collection offered by an American jewelry company in the USA.
“In these times, when social and environmental justice is under threat, the availability of Fairtrade Gold jewelry in North America is a radical positive occurrence,” said Marc Choyt, President of Reflective Jewelry, the only certified Fairtrade Gold jeweler in the USA. “We’ve anchored a movement in this country that supports global Fairtrade Gold communities where people of all faiths and cultural backgrounds work together for a common good.”
The Valerio Classic bridal collection, The World’s Purest Jewelry, was created by global campaigner and activist, Greg Valerio. Valerio was the first Fairtrade Gold jeweler in the world, and pioneered ethical sourcing in the United Kingdom. The Valerio Collection features classic and timeless bridal designs, from single diamond engagement rings to eternity bands, to classic court wedding bands. The gemstones in the collection are traceable and transparent straight back to their sources.
“This Classic collection offers a purity and authenticity born out of over 20 years of pioneering luxury ethical jewelry. Fairtrade Gold, natural origin of denomination gems and diamonds traceable straight back to the hands of miners and source,” said Greg Valerio, who created the line. “This is a jewelry customers perfect choice, beauty without compromise, pure love and pure consequences”.
Valerio and Choyt have been collaborating since their first meeting in the Madison Dialog Ethical Jewelry summit at World Bank in 2007. They have campaigned for jewelry that is ecologically responsible and beneficial to producer communities. They have also worked together on many campaigns and projects through their Fair Jewelry Action network.
Though Reflective Jewelry already produces some of their wedding rings and most of their bimetal earrings, pendants and bracelets with Fairtrade gold, the Valerio brand will bring meaningful progress to the ethical jewelry space in the US, which lingers far behind the UK and EU in industry understanding and consumer awareness. It will be exclusively available in the USA through Reflective Jewelry, both in their Santa Fe boutique and via their website, ReflectiveJewelry.com. The Valerio Collection will also continue to be offered in the UK and EU at ValerioJewellery.com.
“When Fairtrade gold is as well-known as Fairtrade coffee and chocolate, consumers will be able to have jewelry which represents fair and ethical trading practices; and at the same time, hundreds of thousands of people in small-scale mines around the world will be empowered to live better lives,” added Choyt, who has pioneered responsible jewelry practices for over ten years in North America.