engagement ring Archives - The Natural Wedding Company

Blog: engagement ring

Charlie

5 reasons you should buy a recycled gold wedding ring

Charlie

Recycled gold wedding ring - coloured gem ethical engagement rings // Lilia Nash Jewellery

Have you heard of a recycled gold wedding ring? I knew that recycled gold was an option for wedding and engagement rings, but I didn’t really know why you might choose recycled gold, over fair trade gold. We recently met with Lilia Nash Jewellery in the Cotswolds to find out more, plus details on how you can get an exclusive 10% discount below.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of visiting Lilia Nash Jewellery’s workshop and boutique shop in the Cotswolds. It is the perfect place to go and view Lilia’s beautiful engagement and wedding ring designs, and to meet the talented designer who crafts them.

Recycled gold wedding ring - Cotswold jewellery boutique // Lilia Nash Jewellery

Lilia Nash Jewellery uses recycled gold for their wedding rings

Lilia Nash Jewellery is a long standing eco wedding supplier on The Natural Wedding Company directory, so I am familiar with Lilia’s timeless designs and her exquisite use of coloured gemstones. What I was interested to hear more about, when talking with Lilia and her partner Steve, was her passion for using recycled gold.

I have to admit, my first thoughts about a recycled gold wedding ring didn’t conjure up the most romantic image. Certainly not what you would immediately image for your wedding or engagement ring. But on talking with Lilia and Steve I found out exactly why you would choose a recycled gold wedding ring.

Top 5 reasons you should buy a recycled gold wedding ring

So here’s Lilia Nash Jewellery’s top 5 reasons why you should choose a recycled gold wedding ring:

Recycled gold wedding ring - his and hers wedding rings // Lilia Nash Jewellery

Charlie

Fairtrade gold mining and the difference you can make by choosing fairtrade gold wedding rings

Charlie

Freshly mined fairtrade gold for fairtrade gold wedding rings // April Doubleday // The Natural Wedding Company

We share a lot of pretty things here on our blog, like most working in the wedding industry. The wedding industry is big business and with that there can come a price, a price that we may not always consider. When we are investing so much money into certain aspects of our wedding day it can be worth taking a minute to open our eyes (and hearts) to the reality behind the items we purchase. Most of us are aware of issues that have arisen from diamond trade but have we ever considered the cost of gold?

In 2013 our friend and jewellery designer April Doubleday visited one of the few fairtrade/eco gold mines in Colombia. She took her son Jon and filmed their adventure, producing this 9 minute long film.

Fairtrade gold wedding rings // April Doubleday // The Natural Wedding Company

Where do your wedding rings come from?

Everyone should watch this short film before before buying your wedding rings. Let’s be open and honest about where these precious and symbolic love tokens come from. That means considering who mined the gold, how it was removed from the land, and the state the environment is left in.

In your next tea break we’d love you to watch April’s film and gaining an insight into the lives of those who mine the gold for our jewellery.

“Fairtrade and its standards offer miners a better choice and a way out of poverty” – April Doubleday.

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).

Izzy

Unique, handmade and guilt-free ethical wedding jewellery with colourful gemstones by Lilia Nash

Izzy

Today’s guest blog post addresses the issue that many of us go out and pick jewellery we like without much thought to where it has come from or what efforts have gone into sourcing the gemstones and metal. Lilia Nash, who is one of our recommended jewellery businesses, not only creates beautiful wedding and engagement rings, but she ensures she knows just where her raw materials are sourced from.

Over to Lilia to tell us a bit more about her gorgeous ethical wedding jewellery…

I fell in love with gemstones when I was young, and when I decided to start designing engagement rings and wedding jewellery, I wanted to do so without damage to our planet’s resources.

You may not know when you buy a piece of jewellery from a store as to whether or not it has been made from recycled gold or fair trade gemstones. Very often you just fall in love with something you see. I would like us to pay more attention to what we are buying, so that the jewellery we buy is responsibly sourced.

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

Buy one wedding ring and get another half price from the exquisite collection by Eco Wood Rings

Charlie

Eco Wood Rings are offering an exclusive discount on their stunning and unique wedding and engagement rings made from wood – if you buy one ring you get the second ring half price! There is a fantastic selection of rings available and you must read the story on how Eco Wood Rings came to be – so sweet.

The rings are each handcrafted from a single piece of wood, including oak, walnut, hickory and ash. Some of the rings are set with beautiful bands of mother of pearl, turquoise, crushed stones and even crushed walnut shells – each bearing a different meaning which you can read about in the ring descriptions.

Charlie

Fairtrade wedding and engagement rings with 10% off from Foundation Jewellery

Charlie

Foundation Jewellery are licensed makers of fairtrade gold wedding and engagement rings, with full traceable diamonds and recycled gold and platinum available as well. To celebrate our birthday, they are offering readers 10% off their collections for a limited time period.

They stock a range of high quality and classic wedding and engagement ring designs, all bearing the Foundation Jewellery hummingbird mark. As one of the first jewellers in the world to be registered to craft using fairtrade and fairmined gold you can be sure that you are not only investing in a beautiful piece to celebrate your love, but also an ethical one.

Charlie

Get a champagne afternoon tea for two at The Wolseley and 10% off commissions from ethical jewellery maker Jane Runchman

Charlie

This morning I have the most wonderful offer to share with you – I am so envious of all of you brides- and grooms-to-be out there planning your wedding now! To celebrate The Natural Wedding Company’s 5th Birthday, ethically jewellery maker Jane Runchman is offering our readers an incredible champagne afternoon tea for two at The Wolseley in London as well as a 10% discount on commissions during March 2012.

Not only can you commission Jane Runchman to create you a stunning, bespoke engagement or wedding ring, but you also get to go and enjoy a champagne afternoon tea at The Wolseley – a beautiful cafe-restaurant situated on one of London’s most famous boulevards. The afternoon tea menu is mouthwatering.

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