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About the Gowan
F. A. Q.
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It is ironic that some of the most beautiful things that human create are a result of some of their most horrible treatment of each other. Indeed, sometimes it seems that the jewelry industry can be seen as the commodification of human misery and suffering. Pretty sparkly blood diamonds set in dirty gold adorning the bodies of callous hypocritical consumers is the rule in the jewelry trade, not the exception. While we adhere to traditional methods of Metalsmithing, we do not adhere to the traditional chain of acquisition which allows these abusive practices to continue. Gowan Metalwork is an ethical business, and we take our sourcing as seriously as our own fabrication - We do not buy gemstones from conflicted ares of the world, and we do not source metal from polluters or from areas which engage in abusive mining. Metal refineries are some of the worst polluters in the world, with smelting operations being almost the most toxic. Entire areas are affected. The costs in terms of rising cancer rates, birth defects and damage to the water table is hard to calculate. Such methods are so standard and widespread that acquiring metals via other sourcing can be quite challenging and expensive. Often, the only way to do so is to find suppliers who recycle metals. Gowan Metalworks uses almost exclusively recycled metal for our jewelry fabrication operation. I some cases we recycle the metals ourselves, by melting ingots and custom alloying and milling the metals ourself (a rare and non-standard industry practice). In addition to the ethical reasons for doing so, this gives us access to custom high quality alloys which are not commercially available. In the remaining cases, we source our materials from green-certified metal recyclers, primarily Hoover and Strong. This type of sourcing is more expensive, but we wont do it any other way. The DeBeers Diamond Cartel controls nearly all the worlds production of high quality White Diamonds, and have engaged in abusive practices which are notorious and horrific. Other types of gemstones originating from Africa have similar ethical issues in their sourcing. Gowan Metalworks does not and will not purchase any such stones via the traditional channels. As a result, we use mostly Colored Diamonds, as they are not controlled by the Cartel and often originate from other parts of the world. The only White Diamonds we use are acquired from vintage/recycled sources. A similar approach is used for other gemstones. Gowan Metalworks does most sourcing via three methods: Most stones are sources directly from the master stone cutters in Thailand, the center of the world's modern Lapidary Trade-craft. As a small shop, it rarely makes sense for us to acquire the large batches of identical stones which larger production jewelry shops depend on. Rather, we source individual stones chosen for their unique beauty, rare and desirable cut, or at the specific request of a customer. Often, such gemstones are not available in large quantities and have to be acquired individually at auction. By dealing directly with the cutters, we are able to cut out layers of middleman markups, and pass savings on to our customers. A few stones are sourced from friends in the Lapidary Trade in the United States -- these tend to be unusual, exotic and experimental cuts of unusual semi-precious stones useful for larger art pieces . The remaining gemstones are recycled from salvaged vintage and antique jewelry. Many customers bring in battered, damaged or hopelessly outdated heirloom jewelry. We are often able to remove and reuse gemstones, and depending on the particular piece, can sometimes reuse the precious metals as well.
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