A House that asks you to care about one particular stone owes you an account of how it came by it. This page states the principle the House holds itself to, and is honest about the limits of what any single document can prove.
The principle
The House buys from a small number of known counterparties, in relationships expected to last years rather than a single parcel. Traceability in coloured stones is largely a function of how well you know the person selling to you.
Diamonds
Where the House buys diamonds, they are bought within the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The scheme certifies rough diamonds and defines conflict narrowly — stones used by rebel movements to finance war against a legitimate government — so the House treats it as a floor, not a guarantee, and asks its counterparties the questions the scheme does not.
Coloured stones and metal
There is no equivalent scheme for sapphire, emerald or spinel, much of which begins with artisanal miners working outside any formal scheme; refusing to buy from artisanal sources removes income from the people with the least of it. The House works instead on evidence: a named source, a counterparty who can describe the chain behind a parcel, and a laboratory report on origin where one can meaningfully be given. Gold and platinum are bought as recycled metal, or from a refiner operating an accredited responsible-sourcing programme.
What is recorded, for each Creation
- The stone, its species, weight and any disclosed treatment, on an independent laboratory report.
- The counterparty it was acquired from, and the date.
- The country of origin where a laboratory or the chain of supply can state one.
- The metal, its composition, and the refiner or recycled source.
Human rights and labour
The House does not tolerate forced labour, bonded labour or child labour anywhere in its supply chain, and requires the same undertaking from its counterparties in writing.
What the House does not claim
The House does not currently hold any third-party certification or trade-body membership. If it comes to hold one, it will be named here.
This text is published by the House for the information of those it deals with. It is not legal advice, and it does not limit any right you hold under the mandatory law of your own country.
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