IF AT LAST; a love affair with sustainable jewellery

A number of weeks ago, I was contacted on behalf of a Danish jewellery brand, KINRADEN, who specialise in creating beautiful, handcrafted jewellery made from recycled and purified 18-carat gold and sustainable sterling silver. They asked me whether I'd like to be an ambassador for the brand, and select an item of jewellery from their new collection to test out.

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I tend to favour gold jewellery. What you might not know, is that I tend to wear silver jewellery on my left hand, and gold elsewhere, so when I saw that a lot of the collection was silver jewellery, I jumped at the chance to give one of their pieces a try.

The piece of jewellery I chose was the IF AT LAST ring which is a silver ring, made from 100% recycled sterling silver, with a black, brilliant cut mpingo diamond. I absolutely loved the design of the ring and how simple it was, yet able to make such a statement due to the bold black diamond. I've got quite long fingers, and wide knuckles, so I also felt that the fact that the ring was relatively chunky would be a flattering fit - sounds a bit extreme, but anything too dainty can just get lost on my hand otherwise.

Talking of knuckles, one of the great things about this ring is its versatility. Because the ring isn't a solid band, and there's a gap where the two ends fail to meet, it means that the size can be adjusted ever so slightly and so if you've got larger knuckles like I do, you can wear it wherever. I've worn it on my thumb, forefinger and middle finger and it looked great each time, even if I do say so myself...

When I first received the ring, I started wearing it just on its own, but I've since started wearing it stacked with a silver ring I already owned from Missoma and I'm absolutely in love with the combination. There's just something I love about it so much, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Partly I wonder whether it's because it still manages to look elegant, despite the fact that the stacking of rings tends to be much more of a fashion influenced trend?

I briefly mentioned earlier that one of the great things about KINRADEN is their policy when it comes to sustainability.

It is inherent in our idea that every link in our supply chain will earn reason. When everyone is able to build a business and make a living from their work, we are able to push back against illegal businesses exploiting people, nature and the future of our children. 

I'll be completely honest and say that in the past, I've not been particularly aware of sustainability, or the impact of my personal choices on the planet, but it's something that's having a bit of a moment, and I for one have been given food for thought. Seeing as we're talking about jewellery, I've stopped buying any jewellery which is made from plastic or metals which will irreversibly tarnish, so that if/when the time comes that I no longer want to keep the jewellery I own, I'll be inclined to recycle it, whether that's selling it, giving it to a friend or family member or donating it to a charity. The theory being that investing in jewellery which will hold value, means I'm less likely to contribute to the 'throwaway' culture that has caused so many issues in recent years.

Yes, it's a more expensive way of buying jewellery, but the pieces you'll get for your money are much more beautiful and will wear so much better. The IF AT LAST ring is the perfect example of investing your money in something you'll be able to wear for years and years to come - according to the website, the mpingo diamond will only get better with age, when worn closely to skin and I for one can't wait to observe the process.

So there's the tale of my latest love affair. Since working with KINRADEN, I've been looking into other ways of being more sustainable in my approach to life and it's something I plan to share a blog post on soon. If you've got any tips, send them my way - it's something we could probably all do with being better at and sharing is a great place to start.

As always, thank you for reading! If you have any questions, my Instagram is probably the quickest place to catch me.

Laura xx