Sustainability
Why are our pieces of jewelry sustainable through and through
?
We believe in the vision that society should take care to preserve nature and the ecosystems of our planet – that a peaceful, respectful economy and coexistence of people should become a matter of course. We try to take responsibility for sustainability and humanity in all aspects of the production process of a Signum piece of jewelry. The considerate treatment of our environment and the careful use of resources, as well as the appreciation of nature and all people involved in the production process, is one of the most important principles of our small company. The values of openness towards everyone, listening … fairness, sustainability and transparency, which we live as a family and as part of our society, naturally permeate our work and jewelry creation.
We started out as pioneers almost 15 years ago… today we have succeeded in running our production in all areas on the basis of ethically fair and ecologically clean raw materials! For us, this is the basis for a sustainably positive attitude to life, which we would like to pass on to you in the form of our long-lasting pieces of jewelry.
You can find out more about Signum in the podcast with OSR…
Podcast episode
Longevity – no costume jewelry that will no longer be good tomorrow
Timeless design Signum Fair Jewels follows neither trend nor tradition, we follow our very own values in the design, development and manufacture of our jewelry. The design of each individual piece of jewelry is about finding its natural “balance”, a harmonious interplay between materiality, form and color. Every SIGNUM piece of jewelry stands for individuality.Quality In the spirit of sustainability, our aim is to produce pieces of the highest quality using high-quality materials and professional workmanship at every stage.
Care A high-quality piece of jewelry deserves the appropriate care. Read our blog post to find out how to look after your jewelry properly so that it lasts a lifetime or more.
Refresh In new splendor – Rings in particular are not immune to wear and tear, not even wedding rings. We are happy to polish or refresh special surface finishes in our jewelry manufactory for a small surcharge. After a little refresher, your piece of jewelry will shine like on the first day!
Repair If a piece of jewelry is damaged, we will repair it professionally in our jewelry workshop. Jewelry that does not come from Signum Fair Jewels can also be brought in.
Recycling – Turning old into new
Signum Fair Jewels offers you two different ways to recycle your old jewelry: In the case of a refurbishment, we work together to design a concept that preserves the nature of the piece of jewelry, but with a personal touch. This often produces unexpectedly beautiful results. The other option is to melt down the gold after a precise test for gold content, gold color and weight. Any stones are removed for reuse and can be integrated into the new piece of jewelry. The gold is then melted down directly in our Signum manufactory. The gold is either used to make an individual piece of jewelry according to your ideas or you can choose a model from our collection.
Sustainable management
Short distances: We generate almost all of our added value locally through partnerships with Swiss specialist companies and some German partner companies. You can view the entire supply chain here. Thanks to our good network with our partner companies, we can guarantee that our pieces of jewelry travel the shortest and most sensible logistical routes possible during the process.
Energy-saving: With the infrastructure of our jewelry manufactory, we are not only trying to take an alternative approach to e-mobility and solar technology, but are also working to constantly reduce our energy consumption.
Print products: Our cooperation partner for our printed matter is the Lutz printing company in St. Gallen, which works with environmentally friendly printing techniques. We are therefore delighted to be able to produce postcards, brochures and business cards sustainably there too.
Employees: It is important to us to create a favorable working environment for our employees. This includes fair wages, legitimate working hours and co-determination to guarantee all employees long-term security in our company.
Relevance: In general, we scrutinize all investments, purchases and advertising to determine what makes sense and what is really needed to operate successfully and responsibly.
Do you already know about our new jewelry project? That’s what it’s all about:
Climate project 2024 Glacier drops: in Switzerland, we are directly experiencing the effects of climate change and have been doing so for many years, for example through the rapid melting of our glaciers. For us at Signum, whose great value is nature as our carefully We are consciously working for it from many sides.
With the sale of a specially designed piece of jewelry, the SIGNUM glacier drop, we would like to directly support climate protection projects.
The pendant is made of Fairtrade silver or gold and set with gemstones from Switzerland and Zimbaqua, a women’s cooperative from Zimbabwe that works according to Fairtrade guidelines.
In the center, a glacier, one of whose peaks has already melted into water. Shaped like a gemstone drop, it symbolizes the preciousness of water, in all its natural beauty, it sits right in the center. Water, a vital resource for all of us on every continent, which can also become a danger – both beneficial and harmful – if the proportions are unbalanced. We can work together to promote the benefits and minimize the harm, in which direction are we going? We want to give the opportunity to consciously enjoy the beautiful, our sustainable jewel, and combine it with the useful! A clear statement to make changes together for a future worth living.
Investing in education and the environment – sustainability outside the box
Last but not least, it is very important to us to give back some of the happiness that comes from living in a socially and economically secure environment where there is a need. We support the following educational and environmental organizations:
Casa Hogar: At the organization Casa Hogar e.V., we are certain that the support is bearing fruit: girls and women in the Colombian crisis region of Chocó are constantly being empowered through education so that they can grow up free from exploitation and abuse and determine their own lives. 2.5% of our annual turnover goes to the project and with the purchase of a HeartCoin(Link HeartCoin) you even support Casa Hogar with 50% of the purchase price!
Society for Threatened Peoples: Gfbv is active wherever minorities are threatened by economic exploitation and social and political discrimination. Among other things, it is also committed to strengthening indigenous peoples at risk from gold mining.
WWF: Over 6000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide work together to achieve six global goals: Oceans are managed and protected so that people and species continue to benefit from them; the condition of the world’s most important forests is improved; renewable and fair energy futures; freshwater ecosystems continue to serve people and nature; populations of key endangered species can be stabilized and restored; the global food system conserves the planet’s resources. Support for the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative: because we believe that legal requirements are needed for corporations to take responsibility for their actions.
Bildschule Buchs: Regionally, we support the Bildschule Buchs, where children, young people and adults are encouraged to be creative.
Ecofair's wash gold
Ecofair's wash gold
Weprocess 750 / 18 carat yellow, white and red gold alloys from ecologically produced and fairly traded gold from Finnish Lapland. This Suomi (= “Finnish”) wash gold is delivered to us or to our refinery in Germany without any intermediate trade. The gold from the river is washed out using labor-intensive, manual gravity processes. This is done without the use of cyanides and mercury and without high water consumption and damage to the soil, air and water!
Child labor, inhumane working conditions, displacement and expropriation, as well as mining in war and conflict regions are categorically excluded from our supply chain. The Finnish miners receive self-determined fair prices. By paying a premium over conventionally mined gold, we are not only promoting and supporting organic gold production as a whole, but also the important small-scale structures of the people involved in small-scale mining, which amounts to around 15 million people worldwide!
Fairtrade Max Havelaar Gold
As a certified licensee of Fairtade Max Havelaar Switzerland, SIGNUM produces wedding rings and jewelry.k Fairtrade gold in 750 / 18 carat and 999.9 / 24 carat yellow, red and white gold alloys. As a processor of Fairtrade Max Havelaar gold, Signum Fair Jewels is regularly inspected by the independent Organization Flocert audited.
With Fairtrade Gold you can make a direct contribution to the protection of people and the environment in small-scale mining in South America. By joining together to form formal mining organizations, the rights of miners are protected and the development of local communities is promoted. The Fairtrade Standard also prohibitsabusive child labor, forced labor and other forms of discrimination. Health protection and accident prevention measures are mandatory. Long-term business relationships and minimum prices provide financial stability. Fairtrade-certified mines receive a premium of USD 2000 per kg of gold in addition to the market price. This additional income is invested in community projects such as schools, water supply and health centers as well as improving operational processes. Safety regulations protect people and the environment. Fairtrade has clear guidelines for the use of chemicals in gold extraction. Read more about the conditions for Fairtade Max Havelaar Switzerland Gold.
Recycled gold/old gold
Recycled gold/old gold
Signum Fair Jewels offers you two different ways to recycle your old jewelry: In the case of a refurbishment, we work together to design a concept for how the piece of jewelry can be preserved in its original form, but with a personal touch. This often produces unexpectedly beautiful results. The other option is to melt down & redesign the jewelry: after a precise test for gold content, gold color and weight, any stones are removed for reuse and can be integrated into the new piece of jewelry. The gold is then melted down directly in our Signum manufactory. The gold is either made into an individual piece of jewelry according to your ideas or you choose a model from our collection.
Recycled silver
For our alloys, we use recycled silver from old silverware such as cutlery, cans and old silver coins and electronic scrap. The copper contained in our alloys is also recycled material from electronic waste.
Old cut diamonds - recycling with a history
Old cut diamonds - recycling with a history
Many of our pieces of jewelry feature “old-cut” diamonds. These are stones that have been largely recycled from antique jewelry that can no longer be restored. Each stone was cut by hand at the time and is therefore unique in its character and shaped by a long, eventful past. We are delighted to revive these stories in our Signum Fair Jewels collection! In the field of sustainable jewelry production, we are pioneers in the processing of old-cut diamonds and can already count on many years of experience. We source our stones from our Swiss partner company Gemtrade, which carefully tests the stones gemmologically and then certifies them. Do you find this type of recycling interesting and could you imagine wearing such a History Diamond? Find out more about old-cut diamonds here.
Fair trade diamonds
We also use conflict-free, sustainably mined white and natural-colored diamonds from Australia from the company Inspiradiamonds. The diamonds are certified in accordance with the Kimberley Convention.
Have you always wanted to know how to professionally assess the quality of a diamond? Read our blog post to find out more about the diamond classification.
Fairtrade colored gemstones
Fairtrade colored gemstones
Wherever possible, we source our colored gemstones from certified Fairtrade dealers and from organic production. We all know the dealers and organizations personally. Our colored gemstones currently come from the following countries:
Amethist: Brazil (BrazilGems Soares family), Madagascar (Miadana)
Aquamarines: Brazil (BrazilGems, Soares family), Madagascar (Miadana)
Heliodore: Brazil (BrazilGems Soares family)
Morganith: Brazil (BrazilGems family Soares), Madagascar (Miadana)
Oregon Sunstone: Oregon/USA (berckwerk)
Smoky quartz: Surselva GR/Switzerland (berckwerk)
Rubies: Madagascar (Miadana)
Sapphires: Sri Lanka (Ceylon’s Munich), Madagascar (Miadana)
Emeralds: Chivor/Colombia (we visited the mine guided by Hugo Orlando Sanchez himself)
Tourmalines: Brazil (BrazilGems Soares family), Madagascar (Miadana)
Fair trade pearls
Our pearls and pearl drops already used in jewelry come from Sudan from a great fair trade project initiated by two Englishmen. Unfortunately, the project was dissolved a few years ago due to the civil war, but fortunately we still have individual pieces of jewelry with these beautiful rarities.
South Sea pearls are currently available from a fair trade project in the South Seas via BrazilGems from a fair project in the South Seas.
