Laura Lee has been designing fine jewellery in London since 1985. Throughout the years, she has worked towards creating a product and a brand that works in sync with the environment, with as little negative impact as possible - making sure everything, from the materials she uses to the processes she relies on are sustainable.
The environmental crisis we are witnessing is highly distressing and we are very aware of the damage that is being inflicted on this precious planet. While we are only a small company we are very keen to do what we can to reduce our impact and carbon footprint.
Making sure we are sourcing our materials in a responsible way from trusted sources is key and we are always working to improve where we can.
OUR JEWELLERY
At LLJ we start with the basics: working with recycled metals for all our jewellery, from our bespoke one of a kind pieces right down to our Italian-made chains. To be clear this is standard practice across the jewellery industry.
Laura personally selects the best materials for each piece as this level of detail is key to her approach. All the stones we work with are sourced responsibly through the many contacts she has built up in over 35+ years of designing and making jewellery.
All our Diamonds are purchased within the Kimberley Agreement, many of which come from Botswana and are cut and polished in Surat, India.
We also work with the only diamond dealer that is a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council in the UK, working with them to source special stones for bespoke orders - mainly one of a kind engagement rings. The diamonds are cut, faceted and polished by hand, as are all our other precious gemstones.
The opals we use is sourced from Australia by a couple of family firms that buy the rough from small-scale artisanal miners, thereby benefiting the local people directly. These opals are mined, cut and polished with care and respect for the environment, following the very strict rules and regulations that Australia put in place for this industry.
We love malachite, but we could never add it to our pieces. It is highly toxic to the people who mine, cut, and polish it - as beautiful as it is, we have decided that using it does not align with our company values.
OUR PACKAGING
We have designed our packaging to be recyclable. We like using acid free paper and cardboard, and our parcels contain no plastic. We have swaped our jewellery boxes for suede pouches, as we consider this option more sustainable and durable.
We have changed our mailing box design so it does not require a mailing bag, but if for whatever reason one is needed, the ones we utilise are made of sugar cane, a biodegradable material that is still sturdy enough to endure the trip from our workshop to your hands.
Our new packaging is sourced locally instead of overseas, which is a regular choice in the industry. The only item we import from Italy are our beautiful suede pouches, but everything else is produced in the UK in small batches.
At the end of 2021 we did some rebranding, but we still had a lot of old-brand packaging available that we decided to use instead of it going to waste. From time to time, you might encounter one of our old boxes, which we are choosing to put to good use when we see fit.
OUR TEAM AND OUR VALUES
We are a small team of mostly women working together to bring you beautiful pieces of jewellery that stand the test of time. Each item is designed to last and can be repaired and restored if needed - we want our jewellery to be with you on whatever journey you find yourself on.
We are passionate people and love what we do. Our team is tightly knit and we’ve found friends in each other by working together and finding solutions to challenges. This made us a strong entity. We really care about creating jewellery for you to love.
If you’d like to make suggestions or ask any questions about our practices, please get in touch. We want to make sure we are doing our best to help the environment and improve it where we can.