Dirty Gold?

I was talking with a friend about my love of gems and unique jewelry when she looked at me appalled and said "aren't you thinking about how that effects the environment?" I didn't understand what she meant by that. I know that gems and gold/silver/platinum all come from the earth and I'd rather not buy lab-created stones, but she went on to tell me that mining can produce upwards of 20 tons of waste per 18-karat gold ring. I think that those figures are a bit high, but I'm not in the mining business so I really wouldn't know.

I know that the movie "Blood Diamond" has gotten jewelers and potential consumers to take off the binders and notice what is going on, but it seems that our want for that "something shiny" takes us a step farther. Some people are willing to kill to get that perfect gem, but there is always a buyer.

Yes, I know that with my love of gems and jewelry I'm spurring on that sensation, but I don't like the look of the lab-created stones. With all the technology we have, they still look fake and ugly. There is a real beauty when you're holding a gem that has been in the ground for centuries and now is that piece of art in your collection. The lab-created stones have a fakeness to them that no matter what setting you have them in, they don't look natural. They tend to make them too big, so that adds to the gaudy factor.

I've always been interested in where my gems come from and how they are mined, but now I'm a bit more studious when I'm out looking at jewelry. There are sites out in the web that are ecofriendly and sell recycled gold or they know exactly where and how there gem and jewelery is coming from. But I'm still all for the natural stuff.