CRED jewellery Archives - The Natural Wedding Company

Blog: CRED jewellery

Samantha

A Southend Barns autumn wedding inspiration shoot with Minna wedding dress, seasonal foliage and lanterns

Samantha

Please note: Minna is now Indiebride London.

Today’s Southend Barns autumn wedding inspiration shoot is bound to cheer up any ‘January blues’. Think soft glowing lights, trailing foliage in vibrant autumnal hues, jewel-toned seasonal flowers and ethereal bridal style evoking visions of Elven folk from a Tolkien novel.

This beautiful shoot was dreamt up by the rustic farm venue Southend Barns in Chichester and To Have and To Hire wedding stylists. The shoot aimed to showcase local and ethical wedding businesses which of course we always love to see. The styling was a celebration of autumn to reflect the beautiful textures, forms and colours it has to offer. Everything was perfectly captured by award-winning wedding photographer Kelly Hearn.

Charlie

Kate and Aidan’s outdoor eco wedding with a hike to the venue, mountain biking, and cornflowers in beer bottles

Charlie

Kate and Aidan’s outdoor eco wedding, set on Masson Farm in the rolling hills of Derbyshire, is truly inspiring. This biking, hiking and climbing loving couple had a personal vision for their wedding day, but rather than it being about bunting and flowers (though there is an abundance of both) their vision focused on ensuring their celebrations were sustainable and ethical.

The couple and their guests reached the wedding venue by cable car and a hike, before they were married in an outdoor ceremony. Afterwards the reception was held in a tipi that could only be accessed along a steep road which provided seclusion and created an intimate, relaxed atmosphere. Kate and Aidan’s relaxed outdoor eco wedding has been beautifully captured by TNWC recommended supplier Chris Scuffins Photography.

We caught up with Kate to shed some light on their ideas and explain the reasons behind the couple’s choices…

Charlie

16 beautiful ethical engagement rings for a Christmas or New Year’s Eve proposal

Charlie

With Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve less than two months away what better time for a round-up of our favourite 16 ethical engagement rings. With those two days the most popular days in the whole year to get engaged, I imagine there are a lot of (slightly anxious) men and women out there with rings on their mind.

Why choose an ethical engagement ring?

There are all kinds of ways to propose these days, but it has never been easier to choose an ethical engagement ring. What do we mean by ‘ethical’? We are talking about engagement rings made from fair trade gold and silver, recycled gold and silver, and ethically sourced diamonds and other precious gems. In addition to this, many of our recommended wedding ring suppliers are offering more unusual creations using sea glass, lab grown eco diamonds, and sustainable wood (more on those below).

Whatever you choose, do not underestimate the impact made by your choice to propose with an ethical engagement ring. Now onto our top 16 of the most beautiful and unique ethical engagement rings, all available to buy from our recommended suppliers collections.

Modern Ethical Engagement Rings

The teardrop shape of this ethical solitaire diamond engagement ring gives it an interesting twist that will set you apart from the usual diamond engagement ring. Designed by Glasswing Jewellery on a dainty recycled gold band, this is one of my favourites. Buy it here.

Slade Fine Jewellery always come out with some beautiful designs, part modern but with a liberal sprinkling of Tolkein-esque elvish magic. We were particularly captured by this grey rosecut diamond set against that earthy yellow gold, which in this case is recycled eco gold. Buy it here.

The warmth from the rose gold and the ‘rubover’ setting of this solitaire ethical engagement ring from long-time fair trade gold and silver champions CRED Jewellery, create a modern but romantic feeling ring. Buy it here.

With this design, April Doubleday has combined sleek modern lines and a ‘rub over’ setting for ethical diamond ring with the slightly hammered fair trade gold band for a natural feel. Buy it here.

Charlie

Our guide to some of the best eco-chic and ethical engagement and wedding rings

Charlie

Best eco-chic and ethical engagement and wedding rings

For many the Christmas and New Year’s period will have been a particularly exciting one, having got engaged, and so whilst many of you may already have an engagement ring, we thought it a good moment to introduce the jewellery businesses we work with, all who have a strong ethical and eco-friendly commitment.

The above ring, from April Doubleday, has particular caught my eye, with its chic white enamel band, set with glittering Cubic Zironias. It is elegant and modern, but still retains that ‘hewn from the earth’ natural feel – I could almost believe it came from an oyster shell in a mermaid kingdom…

My main conclusion is that I don’t quite know how you’ll ever choose just one! You can find all our wedding ring suppliers in the Rings section of our directory.

Mahailia Jewellery Design

Bespoke wedding and engagement rings from the romantic, windswept Scottish coast (find out more).

Slade Fine Jewellery

Handmade engagement & wedding rings from 100% eco gold and silver (find out more).

Vintage Bijoux

Beautiful diamond & gemstone set antique and estate rings (find out more).

Charlie

The story of why one couple chose fairtrade wedding rings to celebrate their marriage

Charlie

Sometimes it’s nice to take a step back from wedding planning, from all the lovely details and fun plans for this incredible celebration, and look at the deeper part of marriage. I think an important part of that is choosing where you buy your engagement and wedding rings from – of all the many items you purchase for your wedding, your rings will have one of the biggest environmental costs.

No one likes to be bombarded or overwhelmed with terrible statistics or facts about the environmental costs of something like a wedding ring, often it just makes you feel even more powerless to make a difference, but we can’t ignore that there are some pretty bad facts when it comes to conventional mining.

Charlie

The new heritage 1930s inspired jewellery collection from CRED Jewellery

Charlie

It seems I’m having a bit of a 1920s and 1930s inspired day on the blog today, following on from this morning’s glamorous wedding cake I get to introduce you to the stunning new collection from CRED Jewellery. The Penelope Collection from designer Annabel Panes was inspired by the cocktail drinking ladies of the 1920s and ’30s, in particular her own grandmother.

This fabulous 13-piece collection includes engagement rings, necklaces and earrings, all created from Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold and each item set with ethically sourced gems. I particularly love the deep and rich colours of the gems used, especially the Amethyst.

Niki from CRED Jewellery told me “Annabel has taken the elegance and glamour of the 1930’s and applied a modern twist. The deep blues and reds of the precious stones are placed in delicate white gold settings that maximize their splendour and reflect the romantic elegance of the time.”

Charlie

My favourite picks from CRED Jewellery’s ethical engagement rings

Charlie

CRED Jewellery are one of the latest businesses to join The Natural Wedding Company jewellery, and after having a browse through their beautiful collection, I wanted to share my favourites with you all. For all those boys out there looking for an engagement ring to propose then keep your eyes peeled. Here are my favourites…

If you’re looking for something a bit different and unusual there is this beautiful Liana teal sapphire set vines engagement ring. The sapphire is ethically sourced from Malawi, and the band is made from Oro Verde™ 18ct yellow fairtrade gold. It is designed by celebrity jewellery designer Sophie Harley.

I love their Brilliant cut diamond stacker engagement ring because it’s similar to my own engagement ring. At its centre is single conflict-free fully traceable 0.10ct diamond and it’s available in both Fairtrade and Fairmined 18ct yellow gold and 18ct white gold, or in platinum from their partners Oro Verde™.

Charlie

Our gifts of love should not fund hate

Charlie

An email from Greg Valerio over at CRED Jewellery popped into my inbox today with the subject line ‘Our gifts of love should not fund hate’. Here’s what Greg’s email alerted me to:

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is selling blood diamonds on the world market. His army has seized diamond mines, 200 civilians have been murdered, and profits are used to finance political militias.

I’ve just signed an urgent petition urging international regulators meeting in Namibia this week to ban Zimbabwe diamonds, sending a clear message that we do not want the rough diamond trade financing war and violence as we have seen in the recent past in Angola & Sierra Leone.

We have just 24 hours to persuade regulators to act. Join me by signing the Avaaz petition below and let’s get a massive petition together that will be delivered directly to the meeting in Namibia.

I too have headed over to the website to sign the petition, so please take a moment to add your name to the list and support this petition.

If you are looking for ethical wedding rings you should take a look at CRED’s website as they use ethically-sourced diamonds to create their beautiful jewellery.

Image: CRED Jewellery

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