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Opalucious
Opals and other gems star in in Jude’s new pieces for Spring ArtWalk 2007 (April 21 and 22) at j a sharp Custom Jeweler. For more information about Spring ArtWalk 2007, go to www.lancasterartwalk.com
Conflict diamonds
Diamonds that fund conflict in western and central Africa have been in the news lately, but within the industry they’ve been a concern for a number of years. The World Diamond Council was formed in 2000 to confront the issue of conflict diamonds. The UN-mandated Kimberley Process, which bans the sale of conflict diamonds, went into effect January 2003. Since that date, all of the diamonds we have purchased from our diamond suppliers have been in compliance with the Kimberley Process. Every diamond we purchase from these suppliers has a warranty that reads to the effect:
“For any product fabricated from rough diamonds mined from January 1, 2003 onward, the seller warrants that the diamonds have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict and are in compliance with United Nations Resolutions. The seller hereby guarantees that the diamonds are conflict free, based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds.”
There is still some controversy about workers’ conditions in the African mines. If you would prefer to have a diamond that does not come from Africa, we can also get Canadian and Russian diamonds for you. To read more about the Kimberly Process and conflict diamonds, go to www.diamondfacts.org.
New Designer Jewelry
Jude has known of Patrick Murphy's jewelry with high quality stones and superb craftsmanship for years; she and Sue Martin carried his work when they owned Sharp Jewelers. We’re delighted to feature his 14k gold jewelry set with precious and semi-precious stones. For more about Patrick Murphy, visit www.murphy-design.com.
No Dirty Gold
We love gold, but current mining practices are bad for the environment (see www.nodirtygold.org). The production of one gold ring can generate 20 tons of waste. At j a sharp Custom Jeweler, we have committed ourselves to using recycled precious metals. We are now able to obtain most of our precious metal and findings from a manufacturer who currently gets 80% of its gold from its recycling process, which means they eliminate 2,000,000 tons of waste every year by not using mined gold. It is their goal to use 100% recycled gold for all of their products by year’s end.
Our use of recycled metals means no environmental destruction, no contaminated fresh water, and no displaced communities.
Palladium
This platinum-group metal has been around for years, but many jewelers do not work with it. We do! Palladium wears like platinum, and is an excellent choice for those of you who love white metal. It’s cost is comparable to the cost of 14k gold. Click here for more information.
How We Get to Work
Everyone knows how congested some of our roads have become. We do what we can to relieve that congestion. Jude usually rides bike to work or takes the bus in very bad weather. Andrea walks (in ALL kinds of weather), and Sylvia chauffeurs the dogs in a Ford Escape hybrid.
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