Jewelry and precious gems with a clear conscience

Guilt-free precious gems — when it comes to jewelry, more and more people are checking the sustainability credentials. Environmentally friendly pearl cultivation and synthetic lab diamonds are helping make this possible — and minimizing harm to humans and the natural world.

For a long time, no one gave any thought to the ecological impact of jewelry. The river pearls used to adorn crowns were often taken from huge mussel beds in German rivers and streams. The species is now endangered and nature conservationist Wolfgang Degelmann is working to save it. "The mussel can look back on a 230-million-year history, when the conditions for it to thrive were just right. Then humans come along and after 100 years, that 230-million-year history was trampled underfoot." Degelmann runs a mussel breeding program with the aim of reintroducing the creature to its natural habitat.

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