Sandy Leong, a sustainable fine jewellery designer long before the term ‘sustainability’ entered wider public consciousness, has partnered with world-leading gemstone supplier Gemfields to present Sol, a designer collection representing the brand’s values by featuring responsibly sourced emeralds, 18-karat recycled yellow gold and conflict-free white diamonds. In an exclusive interview with Solitaire International, Sandy, the Founder & Designer of Sandy Leong Jewelry, talks about her deep-rooted love for nature and its resources.
Sustainability is at the core of Sandy’s designing processes. Each of her pieces is designed with recycled 18-karat gold and ethically sourced conflict-free diamonds and gemstones. Select natural materials are sculpted by artisans in Kenya, supporting local craftsmanship. Sandy is a member of the No Dirty Gold (NDG) campaign, an international initiative, ensuring that gold mining operations respect human rights and the environment.
You have been championing the cause of sustainability for a long time. What was the turning point for you to go into this direction?
I started Sandy Leong Jewelry 11 years ago with sustainability and humanitarianism as core values. Early on in my design practice I became conscious of the long-term global impact of mining, having researched how many tons of earth has to be disrupted to mine an ounce of gold. I found that to be such an unnecessary process, at least for me. That early research informed my decision to work solely with recycled gold, and I have never looked back. I learned to mix my own karats of gold after realising how easy it is to melt, refine and repurpose the material. I now work with manufacturers who are similarly transparent and responsible in their processes.
Is all your jewellery made of recycled gold? How does one procure old gold? And does the cost of melting old jewellery increase the cost of a new piece fabricated from it? Do you also repurpose old jewellery?
One hundred per cent of my designs are created from 18-karat recycled gold. I will only cast with manufacturers who have shown certification and are 100% transparent about their materials.
I currently have two manufacturing partners in New York City who will melt down old collections or scrap gold and repurpose these materials for my new collections. In practice there is little to no waste. Surprisingly, there is no premium for this service and the price is exactly what you would pay for new gold.
How do you ensure that you use conflict-free gems and diamonds in your collections?
I did and continue to do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions of my gemstone and diamond suppliers. I like to ensure that my partners can trace the origins of their stones and ensure that each step from the mine to a client’s finger has been managed responsibly, with zero harm to the communities that surround the mines. It’s important to check a supplier’s certificate of authenticity ahead of working together.
We would love to know more about the concept-to-creation of the Sol collection. The thought process behind it and how many pieces you created for this collaboration?
During quarantine my family and I retreated to our summer beach house in Amagansett, New York. I hadn’t spent much time there during the early spring and everything started out very brown, sparse and cold. Living in New York City for 10 months out of the year, I didn’t notice how nature seemed to slowly wake up from the long winter, but in Amagansett I was able to walk on the beach every day and look out of my windows to see a rebirth of nature as she slowly turned green. All of the trees started budding and the tall beach grass sprouted. The sun beamed stronger and stayed out longer, and within weeks it was lush again. I did all of the design and development for the Sol Collection remotely from Amagansett during a lockdown period, and I felt compelled to capture the essence of spring and renewal using 18-karat gold and vibrant green hues. Gemfields’ radiant emeralds served as the protagonists for this collection and are clearly the stars of the show. I created 18 pieces in total.