Recycling Gold
Most people don’t realise that enormous amounts of cyanide, mercury and other harmful pollutants are released into the ground during the traditional mining process. It doesn’t have to be this way though, which is why the Luisa Verling brand opts for more sustainable methods of sourcing precious metals to protect the planet and all its inhabitants.
Besides the partner factory in Germany, there’s another place you can get 100% recycled gold for your Luisa Verling design - your old jewellery box! Founder Luisa loves to refine ancient gold and roll it out into something different to give it a new lease of life. She has done this with some of her own grandmother’s precious pieces that held incredible sentimental value but were beyond repair.
Now they sit on her wrist every day in the form of two solid gold bracelets that she can pass on to her daughters one day. Essentially, you can have peace of mind with Luisa Verling pieces knowing that the gold hasn’t been mined. Fine jewellery doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Sourcing Your Stone
There’s nothing as enigmatic and enchanting as the twinkle of a diamond. You can get lost gazing into its seemingly infinite reflections and it makes you wonder: how can compressed carbon be this beautiful?
The Luisa Verling brand is always striving to reduce the demand for unnecessary mining, which is why many pieces feature old antique stones that have been hand cut in rare colour tones and unique shapes.
Lab-Grown Diamonds Versus Earth-Mined Diamonds
Luisa opts for carbon-neutral lab-grown diamonds rather than earth-mined diamonds for her designs. Diamonds made in a laboratory are able to mimic the exact conditions found under the earth’s crust to achieve the same look and feel.
Say goodbye to the antiquated method of using explosives or hand-digging diamonds from exhausted mines in Africa or Russia. Tiny carbon seeds are placed in a chamber and then subjected to immense pressure to form the distinctive molecular structure of a diamond.
The origins of these two types of diamonds may be different, but the beauty and precise physical and chemical properties of the stone are identical. Like a diamond formed under the earth’s crust, lab-made diamonds are subject to the same grading policies as any other stone.
Criteria such as inclusions, colour and carat are judged and recorded on an individual diamond certificate - think of this like a diamond’s passport. Governing bodies such as the GIA or HRD will then verify these details on each stone’s individual certificate.
The 4 Cs
You’ve probably already heard of the 4 Cs of diamonds. They outline each diamond’s carat, cut, clarity and colour, and apply to both lab-grown and earth-grown diamonds.
Carat
Carat describes the weight of a stone, which can often get confused with the size. While a heavy stone will usually look quite large, it can sometimes be a mistake to judge a stone by its weight alone. A 1-carat diamond is typically the same diameter as the top of your pencil. When describing smaller weights, we divide 1 carat into 100 points. So, for instance, a halfcarat is 0.50ct or 50 points and a quarter-carat is 0.25ct or 25 points.
Colour
Diamonds are graded from D - stunningly clear and colourless - all the way to Z, which has an unmistakable warm yellow tone. There’s no right or wrong colour – it’s just a question of choosing the right colour for your skin tone and personal style.
Clarity
Clarity describes the visibility of any inclusions within your diamond. Like knots in wood, nearly all diamonds have a tiny imperfection somewhere within their facets. Often, this is so small that a microscope is needed to see it. Other times, you can see an inclusion just by glancing at the stone. Whether made by nature or in a laboratory, a genuinely flawless diamond is extremely rare and its price will reflect this.
Cut
All the other Cs relate to how a diamond has been formed, but this part of the grading process describes how the diamond has been cut or shaped. Is it round, oval or square? Rectangular, moon-shaped or like a cushion? There are an array of amazing shapes and cuts to choose from when selecting your diamond. For Luisa, the cut is often the starting point of an entire design and everything flows from this initial silhouette.