Nature is in our hands. Life on this planet is truly one, and everything we touch will inevitably touch the lives of others. We will use our business to inspire, push boundaries and implement positive change through fair, circular and sustainable solutions - and we will bring this mindset to the table wherever we go.
“We are in business to create enduring beauty and make a positive impact on this wonderful planet of ours“
We want to help nature heal
Jewellery requires materials. But rather than causing harm to nature in sourcing these, we aim to help nature heal. We insist on using recycled, sustainable and readily restorable raw materials, which we purify to a high standard through the most eco-gentle processes we can find. But jewellery is really just small, how can it be so bad? Well, a single gram of virgin silver or gold can easily require a ton of mined ore from irreplaceable landscapes – and beyond that there are arsenic emissions, cyanide and mercury poisoning causing damage to land, forests, rivers and even the air that we breathe. So, how we produce jewellery matters.
Our fine sustainable metals
KINRADEN jewellery never involves the use of virgin metals, but only recycled gold and silver, gently purified to 18 carat gold and 925 sterling silver. Our metals have a history and of course, they were once mined too. Since then, they have been used for different purposes, including electronics and fine precision instruments. We are here to give these metals new life and love – to continue using the riches already at hand. It is by no means easier or cheaper to do so, but it is the only way forward. We hope to inspire others to follow the same path.
Our signature Mpingo diamonds
Our sustainability agenda permeates all our materials and traditional mined diamonds are not an option. We looked to nature and found the most stunning material that does no harm to people or nature. Mpingo Blackwood is the world’s densest (and most expensive) of woods, so we decided to cut it like a traditional diamond. Using the same Old European, Brilliant and Cushion cuts. The deep black and velvety lustre of polished Mpingo Blackwood creates the loveliest contrast to our metals, recycled gold and silver – and by now the Mpingo diamond has become a signature design of ours. The more you wear them next to your skin, they more beautiful they will become, for now and generations to come.The Mpingo we use is FSC-certified wood sourced in a WWF-protected, lush and sustainable forest in Tanzania, which we actively support through our work. Our ‘mine above the ground.’ In fact, we work with leftover Mpingo Blackwood from classical wind instrument production – so really, these stunning diamonds of ours make no dent in nature, but help keep the amazing Mpingo trees growing to the benefit of nature and the people who live from it.
Traditional diamonds are crystallised carbon, ours are living and harvested from a sustainable ‘mine’ above ground. African blackwood is extremely hard, and our diamonds cut and polished by traditional diamond cutting techniques. Each as unique as a mined diamond – and like a pearl, growing ever more beautiful with wear.
*Earthworks and Oxfam America, “Dirty Metals: Mining, Communities and the Environment”.
As a modern and responsible business, we have chosen to make two of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals our own, in order to empower people through fair and decent work and to pursue a sustainable and circular production. The UN goals no. 8 and 12 are incorporated in the way we work.
Circular is forever
Circular economy aims at eliminating waste and the continual exploitation of the planet’s natural resources. Moving away from traditional linear industrial ‘take-make-dispose’ processes, circular systems build of the concepts of reusing, sharing, repairing, remaking, recycling and re-engineering to create a closed loop of materials that will greatly minimise waste and pollution. Circular economy means that there’s enough to go around for everyone, forever.We believe in slow and circular
Fashion is fast, we’re not. Quite the opposite, KINRADEN is all about lasting relevance and slowly handmade jewellery to be loved for generations. As a circular company, we are committed to minimise our negative impact on the world’s limited natural resources and ultimately create sustainable production loops for both nature and people. We insist on using the purest possible materials that can seamlessly be reused or reengineered, should anyone ever want to do so. Finally, we aim for neutral energy consumption and zero waste, including from our multi-use organic paper packaging.
KINRADEN jewellery is handcrafted by certified goldsmiths at a high standard production facility in Thailand. We are delighted to collaborate with this company run entirely by women, where everyone is treated with fair and equal respect and able to make a dignified living from their work.
