Chopard defines “ethical gold” as gold acquired from responsible sources, verified as having met international best practice environmental and social standards.
Since July 2018, Chopard gold has been responsibly sourced from one of two traceable routes:
1. Artisanal freshly mined gold from small-scale mines participating in the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA), Fairmined and Fairtrade schemes.
2. RJC Chain of Custody gold, through Chopard’s partnership with RJC-certified refineries.
We are committed to demonstrating industry leadership in the responsible sourcing of gold for our collections. This means forging long-term partnerships with artisanal small-scale miners (ASM), taking part in industry working groups such as the Swiss Better Gold Association and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and purchasing 100% of our gold from responsible sources, verified as having met international best practice environmental and social standards.
Responsible Production
Responsibility and ethics are values enshrined at the heart of Chopard’s philosophy. As a vertically integrated independent company, we produce all of our gold alloys in our own in-house foundry, and have done since 1978. This allows us to operate a model based on a closed-loop system, where as much as 70% of production waste (gold that has already entered our facilities) is recycled, thereby reducing our dependence on freshly mined gold. All of our products are completed in our own workshops, located in Switzerland (Geneva and Fleurier) and in Germany (Pforzheim).
Fairmined Gold
As part of “The Journey to Sustainable Luxury”, Chopard launched a commitment to support responsible artisanal gold mining cooperatives in Latin America in achieving Fairmined Certification. The Fairmined Standard requires ASM organisations to demonstrate that strict requirements for working conditions (including the prohibition of child labour) social development criteria and environmental protection are maintained during the mining process. Chopard was directly responsible for a number of small scale mines achieving Fairmined certification, provided training, new processing plants and social and environmental support to help mines achieve the certification.
The Fairmined Standard ensures that miners are provided with a stable route to market and a fair price for the gold which they produce. The premium which miners receive (in addition to the market price) is used to improve living and working conditions for artisanal miners and their communities, helping to contribute to the construction and strengthening of empowered mining communities in a sustainable manner.
Chopard purchases and uses the gold produced by these communities in order to create responsible Haute Joaillerie Collections (including the Green Carpet Collection), complication L.U.C timepieces. In 2017, we were the single largest buyer of Fairmined gold.
Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA)
Chopard joined SBGA in 2017 in order to further increase its contribution in artisanal gold miners’ improvement initiatives and therefore contribute to a further growth of volumes of responsibly extracted gold. Arising from a wish to improve the situation of ASM miners, the Better Gold Initiative for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (BGI for ASM) was set up as a private-public partnership between the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. The initiative relies on the importance of the Swiss market, brings together leading players in the gold sector and creates sustainable and transparent conditions along the gold value chain. It supports the implementation of a number of international initiatives, such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, which guides companies to ensure that their mineral sourcing does not finance conflicts.
Chopard Ethical Gold
Chopard defines “ethical gold” as gold acquired from responsible sources, verified as having met international best practice environmental and social standards.
Since July 2018, Chopard gold has been responsibly sourced from one of two traceable routes:
1. Artisanal freshly mined gold from small-scale mines participating in the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA), Fairmined and Fairtrade schemes.
2. RJC Chain of Custody gold, through Chopard’s partnership with RJC-certified refineries.
Our vision is to increase, as much as we possibly can, the proportion of certified artisanal gold we buy as it becomes more available on the market. This represents the latest step in Chopard’s long-term commitment to ensuring the provenance of raw materials our number one procurement priority.
