Francesca Favorini-Csorba
The only jewelry company I ever want to work with!
I work in ethical supply chain management, so when I started my search for an ethically sourced engagement ring, I had a high bar. I quickly realized that most jewelers (even the small business owners) who claimed "conflict free" or "responsibly sourced" or "eco-friendly" gemstones and jewelry mostly had no real way of demonstrating how they meet those claims. Some jewelers say that the follow the Kimberly Process for avoiding conflict minerals and leave it at that. The Kimberly Process is well known to have a number of loopholes that make it so it is not a guarantee of ethical sourcing.
My search eventually led me to FTJCo, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they could back up their claim of fair trade and responsibly sourced with real information about the traceability of their stones and metals, and good knowledge of and high standards for the world of ethical sourcing. As a professional in the field myself, their awareness was refreshing and reassuring.
On top of that, they are wonderful to work with and make beautiful pieces! Couldn't be happier with the truly one of a kind ring I ended up with.