HIGH AMBITIONS
With human influences resulting in a 50 per cent decline in coral cover in the last 30 years, the time to take action is now
Sarah Ellen joins us on the journey of the Tiffany diamond.
In the past, conflict and irresponsible mining practices have taken the shine off the diamond industry. But Tiffany & Co. is leading the charge for change through a commitment to minimise its impacts as a business, positively affect communities and actively protect the planet. Tracing the journey of their stones is key, and a new generation is along for the ride
ANTWERP’S CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION IS BUZZING. Commuters barely give its marble pillars and vaulted ceilings a glance and are only mildly more interested in our impromptu photo shoot. But it's easy to see why the landmark building, finished in 1905, has been dubbed the Railway Cathedral. It's a fittingly grand introduction to the Diamond City, a proud nickname that goes all the way back to the 15th century, when Antwerp first rose to become a world diamond hub. Today, approximately 84 per cent of the world trade of rough diamonds passes through Belgium's cultural centre. And it's for that reason that ELLE and social media sensation Sarah Ellen are also passing through.
Just a stroll from Central Station is where the business of daily diamond dealings happens, and where the glamour ends. Antwerp's Diamond Quarter is the sum of just a few nondescript streets, yet behind securely locked doors a stupendous volume of diamonds from all corners of the world converge. Last year alone, $46 billion dollars worth of diamond transactions happened here. So there's a good chance that a diamond you have, or have your eye on, probably made a stopover here at some point in its life.
Behind one of the unremarkable doors is where rough diamonds that may, if they're lucky, become Tiffany diamonds, start their journey. In 2002, the US company established a wholly owned subsidiary, Laurelton Diamonds, to manage the worldwide supply chain that sources, cuts, polishes and supplies finished stones to Tiffany. And we're getting a personal tour of the headquarters. Inside, in a serene and uncluttered office, a large table is covered with rough diamonds of all sizes, from bags of tiny pebbles best seen through a microscope to hulking rocks.
“I knew that we would be seeing lots of diamonds and I knew that we would be holding a rough diamond – I was so excited to do that because who gets the opportunity to hold a diamond that has just been mined out of the earth – but I didn't realise we would be seeing so many of them!” says Sarah Ellen. The actress and creative director of online fashion destination Perks Of Her is scooping up handfuls of frosted stones like candy, wide-eyed at the natural beauties formed deep underground billions of years ago.
Andrew Hart, Tiffany & Co.'s senior vice president of diamond and jewellery supply, has invited us and our smartphones to Antwerp for a whirlwind 36 hours on the ground. He's drawing back the curtain on the process or, as it turns out, multitude of processes that go into ensuring only the best diamonds end up in the iconic Tiffany Blue Box. Hart has worked for Tiffany for close to two decades and has responsibility for the integrity of the company's global diamond and gemstone supply chain. The story of how Tiffany came to be a leader in the industry is clearly one he's personally passionate about sharing.
"I have this weird notion than when a diamond comes out of the ground, the greatest aspiration it can have in its life is to become a Tiffany diamond. You have to be the best of the best, you have to be the .04 per cent to be able to become a Tiffany diamond," says Hart with a grin, referring to the fact that 99.96 per cent of the world's gem-grade diamonds are rejected by the company. “It's our job to help them achieve the best they can in their life above ground.” The fact he can attribute thoughts and feelings to what amounts to a bunch of bonded carbon atoms says something of the spell he's fallen under since joining the brand.
“You can’t help but fall in love with the product, and in the end, I feel like Tiffany has to be about great design and the product itself,” he explains. “That’s the foundation, that’s the building block. We can have the best marketing and the best PR, all the best sales professionals and tutor our customers really well – and the blue box is amazingly powerful – but if we don’t have great product inside the box then eventually we’re going to run out of steam.”
It was that understanding and a vision spearheaded by management back in the ‘90s that prompted Tiffany & Co. to change course. It was about getting back to the quality, artistry and skilled craftsmanship that formed the heart of the business Charles Lewis Tiffany formed in 1837. In terms of jewellery, that meant addressing supply chain issues. Hart is adamant that traceability is the best means of ensuring social and environmental responsibility and has overseen the implementation of a vertically integrated supply chain strategy that gives Tiffany direct control of its manufacturing.
“One of the prerequisites for assuring sustainability is to know where the product comes from, how the environment was treated and how the people were treated – in the mining areas and also in all the processing operations around the world,” says Hart. “If you don’t know where the product comes from, you can’t even start to make sure it is correct.” The second reason, he admits, was supply security, and ultimately, the bottom line. “We are a for profit company and we have to have returns for our shareholders so we looked and said, ‘We should be able to be more profitable as a company when we do it this way,” and we’ve proven that.”
Nowadays the company sources approximately 70 to 80 per cent of diamonds it uses in jewellery as rough diamonds, primarily from mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia, Russia, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Hart or someone from his team personally visits the mines they work with to survey the impact on the environment and surrounding community.
As well as observing The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme – a global agreement formed to curb the trade of conflict diamonds (those mined in war zones and sold to finance conflict) – Tiffany has a no-tolerance policy towards countries known for severe human rights violations such as Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In addition, Tiffany is a signatory to Earthworks’ No Dirty Gold campaign, pledging more responsible sourcing of gold. (The raw silver, gold and platinum used in its facilities come from two principle sources – in-ground large-scale deposits of metals in the United States, and metals from recycled sources.)
The company was a founding member of the Initiative For Responsible Mining Assurance, a coalition of non-government organisations, businesses, affected communities, mining companies and trade unions that develops standards for environmental and social issues related to mining, including labour and human rights, indigenous peoples and cultural heritage, conflict response and pollution control. And certification from The Responsible Jewellery Council, a not-for-profit, standard-setting organisation, means Tiffany & Co. are independently audited to ensure they reach an international standard on responsible business practices for producing diamonds, gold and platinum.
In 2015, Tiffany appointed its first chief sustainability officer, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, whose job, in addition to heading up the philanthropic Tiffany & Co. Foundation, is to direct the company’s global sustainability agenda. “We didn’t want to be a brand that just talks about it as just a concept,” says Hart. “We want to really live it and make sure we have the fundamental building blocks in place. Anisa is our head of corporate social responsibility and we work closely together. We really feel like it has to be the business working in concert to make this all happen.”
Ultimately, it’s a real differentiator for Tiffany when it comes to the customer, for whom the backstory is increasingly important. And none are
“GENERATION Z ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT”
more savvy than generation Z, determined to make a positive impact on the world and willing to pay more for it. Recent research done by corporate social responsibility marketing agency Cone found that 94 per cent of generation Z believes companies should help address social and environmental issues, and 89 per cent would rather buy from a company supporting social and environmental issues over one that does not. The Masdar Gen Z Global Sustainability Survey found that around half of generation Z have chosen to spend more money on products from a company that behaves sustainably, and a third have boycotted a company that they perceived as following unsustainable practices.
“It’s a question I’m always asking myself,” says Sarah Ellen, who owes her own increasing awareness to global travel and eye-opening documentaries. “I watched The True Cost when I was 17 years old and since then my entire perspective on sustainable clothing has changed. Before making any purchase, I always stop to think: is this an industry that I want to buy into?”
Hart identifies true luxury as something a younger generation will continue to value, acknowledging the company needs to think outside the realm of tradition. “We have to be ready to celebrate love and commitment in all its forms. It’s not just the traditional path of: you get engaged, the man buys the diamond, and life rolls out that way. There are all different kinds of paths people take. We’re an inclusive brand; we want to support that, so we’re thinking about love and engagement together and we’re creating products that are welcoming all sorts of commitment… There’s always a good reason to buy a diamond.”
Nevertheless, the brilliant-cut diamond in the classic six-prong setting is still one of the most popular and iconic Tiffany designs (and immortalised with its own emoji). It’s the production of this particular stone that we follow from Antwerp, where, through an alchemic mix of human expertise and advanced technology, each is marked, sorted for colour and fluorescence (a good effect for the disco, not for a Tiffany jewel), put through stress checking (a rainbow effect indicates high tension, meaning the stone can shatter upon cutting) and then laser sawn and evaluated before being shipped out for polishing to a Laurelton workshop, one of which is situated on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius.
Last year, Tiffany & Co. came out in support of the Paris Climate Agreement in a very public way, taking to Twitter, Instagram and booking a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for President Trump to take bold climate action. There was no question it was the right move, says Tiffany’s chief sustainability officer Anisa Camadoli Costa. “We felt it was important, especially in this day and age when companies need to lead, to voice our perspective on something that we feel is a global concern and a business goal,” she says.
Next year the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, of which Costa is chairman and president, celebrates its twentieth anniversary and to date has awarded more than $70 million dollars in grants to non-profits working globally to preserve the world’s most treasured seascapes and landscapes. In addition to Tiffany’s long-term goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and efforts in responsible mining, the company is committed to global coral conservation at a time when the ocean’s reefs are under threat from mass coral bleaching triggered by unprecedented sea temperatures. How does the foundation decide which environmental programs to work with? ANISA CAMADOLI COSTA: We look at two things: what are areas where the company and the brand has an impact in terms of our business and also where do we have the opportunity to make a positive impact. Over a decade ago we realised that we did not have traceability over the coral in our jewellery, therefore we weren’t comfortable selling it. We also realised back then what many people still don’t realise: that coral is an animal, not a plant or rock, and it serves as a cornerstone for vibrant oceans and healthy ecosystems.