"Emeralds For Elephants" - Asian Elephants

NARAYAN JEWELLERS ZAMBIAN EMERALD RING

Following the success of ‘Emeralds for Elephants’ in London in the summer of 2010, the key players have formed a new project along the same lines - benefiting a different region.  World Land Trust has partnered with Gemfields in an effort to create awareness and raise crucial funds for the conservation initiatives of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) for the Asian Elephant in India.


The effort has brought together 10 of India's top Jewelry Designers each hand picked to create a one-of-a-kind piece or collection using Gemfield's ethically sourced Zambian emeralds. Gemfields’ focus is on ethically produced Zambian emeralds that follow fair-trade, environment, social and safety best practices. The Company’s unique mine-to-market capability guarantees the provenance of every gem through a full disclosure and certification programme. The deep green of these gems and the ethical nature of their mining and route to market, form a perfect fit with the World Land Trust’s goals and objectives.

VUMMIDI BANGARU JEWELLERS ZAMBIAN EMERALD EARINGS

As India’s farmlands and cities expand, the Asian Elephant is experiencing large-scale habitat fragmentation and loss. India is home to 60% of the world’s Asian Elephant population, making their survival in India critical to the survival of the whole species. An extensive survey across India conducted by WTI resulted in identifying 88 vital corridors for elephant movement. The Wildlife Trust of India with its conservation partners subsequently set about securing these vital corridors, of which the World Land Trust has partnered with WTI in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, southern Indian state of Kerala and the north eastern state of Meghalaya.

Securing corridors for elephants involves working closely with local communities and governments and this renders the entire process time and resource-intensive. WTI and its conservation partner WLT aim to facilitate the creation of conflict-free corridors and improve conservation prospects of the Asian elephant.


Ian Harebottle, CEO of Gemfields says that “Gemfields is very pleased to bring Emeralds for Elephants to India this year. Our London auction for the ‘Indian Elephant Corridor’ project helped to raise a significant amount last year, and we are sure of a good response in India. Gemfields is proud to have partners who support us wholeheartedly on this initiative and we sincerely hope that our efforts in giving to the environment will help build larger and more viable habitats.”

ARZAN KHAMBATTA SCULPTURE

The star of the collection is a Ganesha sculpture with a 638 carat Gemfields Zambian emerald created by renowned artist, Arzan Khambatta.  The jewellers are just as diverse in their style and designs; Abaran Jewellers (Bangalore), Anmol Jewellers (Mumbai), Gem Palace (Jaipur), Khanna Jewellers (New Delhi), Meena Jewellers(Hyderabad), Narayan Jewellers (Baroda), Nirav Modi (Mumbai), Sawansukha Jewellers (Kolkata), Talwarsons Jewellers (Chandigarh) and Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers (Chennai).


John Burton, CEO of World Land Trust, says “Gemfields have not only demonstrated their ethics, but are also committed to helping the natural environment of Elephants, both in Africa where their emeralds are mined, but also in India where many of them are sold. In 2010 they were one of the major contributors to the programme managed by the Wildlife Trust of India and supported by the World Land Trust, creating corridors to allow elephants to move freely between protected areas.”


The collection will go on tour around India to each of the designers’ boutiques from August to October 2011. On 14 October, Sotheby’s will auction the collection at an exclusive event held in the Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai, with a percentage of profits from each jewel going towards the World Land Trust’s ‘Indian Elephant Corridor’ project.

To stay up to date with the project join their Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/EmeraldsForElephants

UnCommon Goods: Call For Jewelry Designers

UncommonGoods is looking for their next great jewelry designer – they’re accepting submissions for unique pieces and fresh designs until midnight on August 31 here: http://www.uncommongoods.com/designs/jewelry.

Calling all jewelry designers! Here's your chance to get your products in front of UncommonGoods customers. We're looking for unique pieces and fresh designs that we haven't seen anywhere else. Think earrings, necklaces, cufflinks, watches or bracelets, and whatever else you think will make us say "wow".

What's In It For You?
This is a great opportunity for you to win a little pocket change ($500), your jewelry will be seen by UnCommonGoods' active consumer community and possibly sign a vendor contract with UncommonGoods.  


Community Sourced 
We’ll share the designs we like with our customer community using our community voting app, then our panel of judges (Brooklyn artist Kiel Mead, style & beauty expert Jenn Falik, and our own jewelry & accessories buyer Erin Fergusson) will choose the winning design from the top five vote-getting finalists.





UncommonGoods is an online marketplace offering creatively designed, high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. At UncommonGoods, we believe that creativity and the expression of individuality represent two great human treasures. We have set out to create a business that makes uncommon goods accessible to everyone.

Founded in August 1999, UncommonGoods is privately held and headquartered in New York City