16.05.2018

Creative After Work
Time: 19:00
Location: EMMA - Creative Centre Pforzheim, Emma-Jaeger-Straße 20, 75175 Pforzheim

All that glitters is not gold - jewellery designer Jan Spille on the trail of Fairtrade gold and silver

There are many reports about the poor working conditions in the production of fashion, and the clean origin of diamonds is also repeatedly in the public eye. But what about jewellery made from gold and silver? We don't usually think about the working conditions of the people who have to mine precious metals.
Hamburg jewellery designer Jan Spille was confronted with the serious ecological and social impact of gold mining during his travels after completing his training as a goldsmith, and at the same time became acquainted with the world's first mining cooperatives in South America that produce ecologically and socially responsible gold and silver. As the first goldsmith in Germany to do so, he has been processing Eco + Fairtrade precious metals and gemstones since 2003 - in 2015, his Hamburg studio became the first German jewellery company to be Fairtrade certified. On regular mining trips to Africa, South America, Europe and Asia, he and his team visit the gold miners and their families in person. In a lecture, he reports on his experiences from the gold mines and presents the various sustainable gold concepts that are processed in his Hamburg studio, such as "Eco+Fairtrade Gold and Silver - from ecologically and socially responsible mining" or "Eco-Regional Gold - ecologically extracted from German rivers".