Before founding Monarc Jewellery in 2017, I had made up my mind that if I was to create a brand, especially that of a luxury goods brand, that I had to create this in the friendliest way possible. My purpose for Monarc Jewellery has always been to tread lightly and kindly, to be transparent, circular and put the planet and its inhabitants first.

To stay true to Monarc’s purpose, it means that I must challenge the status quo and traditional methods that the jewellery industry follows; I must redefine the norm. To this end, Monarc’s team and I are never standing still – we remain inquisitive to learn and adjust our best practises according to new technologies and methods that can enable us to do better.

I invite you to read and ponder Monarc’s Sustainability Journey in the following pages and welcome you to be a part of our journey.

In the spirit of community and collaboration, we also welcome you to enquire about our practices and suggest alternative approaches that better benefit our people and planet.

FOUNDER & DIRECTOR

MONARC JEWELLERY

Ensuring that each piece of Monarc jewellery is produced under safe, fair, legal and humane working conditions is of uttermost importance to us. We hold ourselves and our suppliers and workshops to the highest social and environmental standards, and only partner with those who share our values. We work closely with our partners, monitoring their adherence to globally recognised labour and human rights standards, as outlined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, to provide and maintain safe workplaces.

At Monarc, we act with integrity, compassion and respect, and recognise the need for ongoing education. We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind and actively work towards ensuring equal representation and diversity across our content, collaborations and partnerships.

Committed to sustainable growth, we release concise and carefully considered collections of season-less styles to be treasured forever. Our collections are often many months in the making as we undertake extensive research to ensure we always source the most sustainable materials available.

With a customer led approach, we keep our stock levels at a minimum preferring to top up styles as they sell. By limiting our production scale we are able to oversee every step of our operations, ensuring the quality of our jewellery as well as the upholding of our ethical and environmental standards.

Everything we make has an impact. As such, the key consideration within our design process is to ensure the timelessness, durability and exceptional quality of our jewellery, so that it withstands the test of time, taking on an emotional resonance with the wearer. Jewellery is often a deeply personal purchase, loaded with sentiment. Our hope is that our pieces will be cherished now and become future heirlooms.

We offer product warranties as well as repair and maintenance services, and encourage the re-plating of our demi-fine gold vermeil products.

DESIGN: Where all new things begin. We consider the physical, styling and emotional longevity of each Monarc design and collection. If an idea hints at being trend driven or not durable, it is not something we will take forward or develop.

MATERIALS: We use 100% recycled metals. Our coloured gemstone are recycled or from an alluvial source. Our diamonds are certified carbon-neutral. These materials are durable, hold their value and can be repurposed and recycled.

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT & ELIMINATION OF POLLUTION: We focus on a closed loop for our production and reuse resources such as samples / models, which are typically made of silver, rubber and wax.

ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING AND SHIPPING: Monarc and its workshops remain 100% plastic free. Home compostable and FSC packaging is used for the shipping of jewellery stock and orders. We offset any carbon used for the transport and shipping of goods.

KEEP MATERIALS IN USE: We offer product warranties, repair and maintenance services. We encourage replating of gold vermeil and sterling silver items to prolong the lifecycle of demi-fine jewellery.

REFLECTION & UPDATING: We are continually on the move to improve our processes to increase the circular nature of Monarc Jewellery product.

Much of the environmental impact of the jewellery industry happens at the raw materials stage. That’s why the provenance of our materials is of utmost importance to us. When selecting our precious metals and stones, we implement a strict criteria, taking into consideration land and water usage, environmental and human impact, and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the material’s quality and durability. We are proud to say that all of our materials are from “aboveground” sources, meaning we do not actively support the extractive and exploitative practices of the mining industry.

Our diamonds are created by our partner Diamond Foundry; a zero-emission foundry based in Washington, USA, using hydro-power to create sustainable, fully-traceable diamonds.

Aboveground diamonds are atomically identical to mined diamonds; the stones grow through the same processes that occur in the Earth’s layers, but unlike mined diamonds, they do not compromise social and environmental justices. Each diamond forms in its own way, with one-of-a-kind inclusions and unique growth patterns. No two diamonds are alike.

While mined diamonds generally pass through several owners with an origin impossible to trace, aboveground diamonds have transparent provenance. The diamonds we use are 100% traceable and guaranteed to be cartel-free.

By choosing one carat of sustainably produced, aboveground diamond (rather than earth mined), you’ll save: 545 l of water, 250 tons of earth, and 64 kg of carbon dioxide!

All our coloured gemstones are either recycled / repurposed from vintage jewellery or from alluvial sources, meaning they have been released from rock by weathering and washed down stream where they are then deposited in river beds or beach sands. It is from here they are collected.

Our raw metals are from 100% recycled sources that are certified for their quality by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). The refinement process and supply chain of these metals is closely monitored to ensure it meets strict environmental, social and ethical standards.

All our packaging is plastic-free and made from sustainably sourced paper and compostable materials. We use 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper stock, sourced only from responsibly managed, socially beneficial and environmentally friendly forests, for our jewellery and shipping boxes. With minimal branding, we hope to encourage the reuse and repurposing of our boxes to minimise waste.

Our jewellery is packaged in home compostable cellulose bags - a decision we made years ago to help combat issues associated with single use plastics. These home compostable bags will typically breakdown within months of being discarded, leaving no trace.

Where dyes are used, we make sure they are natural and non-toxic. We continue to research and keep abreast of new innovations so as to ensure we use the most sustainable packaging solutions available.

We believe that we should be minimising the environmental impacts of our operational activities and maximising emissions reductions. As such, we always use carbon neutral shipping options to offset any carbon produced through transport and/or shipping.

To further offset our emissions, we plant a minimum of 20 trees per month through Treeapp. Every order made through monarcjewellery.com plants one more tree. There is no better time to get planting than today as a method of carbon capture to take up the burden of human industry.

By choosing to use 100% FSC certified paper stock, we do our bit to help preserve one of our best defences against climate change. As larger trees absorb carbon dioxide more rapidly than younger, smaller trees, it is important to protect existing forests. FSC certified forests are managed with consideration for people, wildlife, and the environment.

We are currently working towards our Toitū Envirocare - Environmental Certification, as well as the more globally recognised Ecochain - Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

At Monarc, we are proud to have the opportunity to support organisations doing meaningful work. We have recently partnered with:

Lumos is a NGO (non-governmental charity) that exists to fight for millions of children in harmful institutions and orphanages around the world with the aim to provide loving and safe homes that can empower children. Monarc donates to Lumos on an annual basis. Historically, Monarc uses its voice to go against participating in the period of Black Friday & Cyber Monday (BFCM), and instead chooses to champion mindful consumption and ‘giving back’ from sales generated across the BFCM period. Monarc gives 10% of web orders over the BFCM period to the Lumos charity.

Save the Elephants is an organisation that works to sustain elephant populations and preserve the habitats in which elephants are found, while at the same time fostering a heightened appreciation and visibility for elephants and their often fragile existence. 10% of every Alfil order from the Unum Collection is donated to Save the Elephants.

Oceana is an ocean conservation organization that focuses on championing and influencing policy decisions that preserve and restore the world’s oceans. 10% of every Praesidio order from the Unum Collection is donated to Oceana.

Sustainability is an ever evolving practice with new innovations and better solutions being constantly developed. Whilst we do our best to keep abreast of these developments, we acknowledge that there may always be a better way to do things. In the spirit of community and collaboration, we welcome you to enquire about our practices and suggest alternative approaches that better benefit our people and planet.