sustainability: why should you buy vintage gold?

all of our jewelry is solid gold-- we do not sell gold-plated or gold-filled jewelry. 

while gold-plated jewelry can be more affordable, the thin outer layer of gold on plated jewelry will always eventually wear off, and once this happens the jewelry is usually thrown away. approximately 90 tons of gold is used annually on gold-plated jewelry, and cannot be recycled. 

additionally, the gold mining process is extremely harmful to the earth-- it's estimated that to mine the gold for one single wedding band, 20 tons of rock and soil have to be blown up or dug up and discarded. toxins like cyanide are used to leach gold from ore, dislodging mercury from the ore and causing water contamination that can negatively affect wildlife and humans. to this day, sediments on the floor of san francisco bay are contaminated with mercury from the california gold rush of the 1800s. 

our vintage pieces allow you to purchase high-quality, beautiful jewelry (with their own unique stories) without contributing to the environmental impact buying new gold can have! solid gold pieces also have the ability to be repaired or reworked-- broken pieces can be made to look good as new, and pieces that are no longer being worn can be melted down to make something else that suits you more! this way, you can get "new" jewelry that doesn't have the negative impact on the earth that newly mined gold has.