Though there are no universally agreed upon principles and standards for fair trade sapphires, our Aquamarines from Guy Clutterbuck are traceable and are tracked from mine to market. The polishing is done in Thailand, supervised personally buy Guy, at an factory which is exemplary in their treatment of employees.

For decades now, Guy has been selling to royalty and the rich and famous throughout the world, sourcing ethically before it became a trend. Recently, Livia Furth chose some of Guy’s aquamarines to wear at the Oscars.

Our ethically sourced aquamarines come from members of the Tumbuka tribe in Zambia through an extraordinary arrangement. Money is given in advance to tribal members and six months later, Guy returns to purchase material at top dollar. The mining is done by hand, which decreases the environmental impact.

Guy’s relationship with small scale tribal miners has been built up over twenty years. This type of trust between a foreign gem dealer and an international buyer is practically unheard of in Africa. Because Guy pays so well, he is able to obtain the best possible material.

After obtaining the stones, Guy hand carries the material to a small facility in Thailand that is run by a single family, where he personally supervises the polishing of his gems. All his aquamarines are entirely natural, without any heat treatment or coloring.

Guy’s gems are among the finest in the world. He regularly sells to the rich and famous, from rock and roll stars to British royalty.

To learn more, read our interview with Guy on our fairjewelry.org blog.

The Myth And Lore Of Aquamarine

Aquamarine’s lore stretches back to the breast plate of the high priest Aaron. Each stone represented a quality of one of the tribes of Israel. St. John, in the fourteenth verse of Revelations, lists the “foundation” stones in the church, listing beryl as his eighth stone, associated with the virtue of mercy and the apostle Thomas.

Aquamarine is part of the larger gem family known as beryl, which, depending upon trace chemicals, have color ranges in blue, pink, green and yellow. Aquamarine’s designation as March’s birthstone was made in 1912 by a trade association of jewelers. Read On…