Single Mine Origin Gold Now Being Distributed in the US

Providence, Rhode Island-based C&J Fine Jewelry Makers will offer the traceable gold to companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Lauren McLemore lauren.mclemore@nationaljeweler.com

L’Atelier Nawbar earrings with single mine origin gold

A pair of earrings from L’Atelier Nawbar made with Single Mine Origin (SMO) gold

Providence, R.I.—Rhode Island manufacturer C&J Fine Jewelry Makers is now the exclusive distributor of Single Mine Origin (SMO) gold in the United States and Canada.

According to U.K.-based SMO, the gold from SMO member mines is the first transparent and traceable gold that has full chain of custody and is fully audited.

The gold offered by C&J Fine Jewelry Makers will be traceable to the Ity mine in Côte d’Ivoire, which SMO said has the longest history of any gold mine in the African country.

To receive accreditation from SMO, mines like Ity undergo a multi-level evaluation process during which the company applies environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria from international standards—like the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance’s standards or the International Council on Mining and Metals’ principles—combining objective factors and subjective judgment.

SMO is also developing its own standard, the SMO ESG benchmark, designed as a tool for comparing SMO mines with other gold mines, regionally and globally, to ensure accountability.

The Ity mine received the Ivorian Mining Excellence Award for its ESG initiatives in both 2021 and 2023.

All jewelry made with SMO gold comes with a QR code that shows its journey from mine to market.

The QR code also offers details on the gold’s origin and beneficial effects it has had as it made its way to the consumer.

“At C&J Fine Jewelry Makers, we manufacture for the most iconic houses of fine jewelry around the world, and we have seen a growing sense of intention with our clients, and their customers, to know where and how their raw materials are sourced,” said Jeffrey D’Angelo, president of C&J Fine Jewelry Makers.

“Single Mine Origin is a needed solution to a white space in the global supply chain of gold that is traceable, responsibly sourced, and independently audited. We are excited to partner with SMO to help drive positive change within the jewelry industry.”

SMO was founded in 2017 by Dan and Charlie Betts, brothers from Birmingham, England, in response to how little of the world’s gold was fully traceable, due to how it is mined, refined, and sold.

The pair is the ninth generation of the family in the gold smelting and refining business, dating back to 1760 when Alexander Betts founded what is now the Betts Group.

In 2012, Dan left the family business to concentrate on Hummingbird Resources, a gold exploration business set up with his father, Stephen Betts.

Five years later, Hummingbird Resources established SMO together with Betts Metals.

In 2024, Hummingbird Resources fully divested, and SMO is now solely owned by the Betts Group.

Related stories will be right here …

The U.S. ranks third in terms of global demand for gold jewelry, according to SMO, yet less than 4 percent of the world’s gold supply is traceable from mine to finished product, the company said.

C&J Fine Jewelry Makers Managing Director Anthony Maietta said the company has been working exclusively with recycled gold due to the demand for it.

In late 2023, one customer, jewelry brand Roséate, asked if C&J would make its jewelry using SMO gold.

That was Maietta’s introduction to the company.

After research, he decided SMO was a perfect partner for C&J for a few reasons—it’s responsibly sourced with consistent supply, it’s affordably priced, and perhaps most importantly, it can be scaled.

“Some of the responsible sources on the small-scale artisan mines, they’re doing amazing things [but] there’s also just not a lot of it to go around,” Maietta said.

He estimates that, on a daily basis, of the gold used for jewelry, electronics, and investment, about 30 percent comes from recycled sources and about 70 percent comes from newly mined sources.

Of that 70 percent, 10 percent comes from small-scale artisanal mines and 90 percent comes from large-scale mines.

Maietta added, “SMO is seeking to work with the best actors for large-scale mines. They’re working with that 90 percent.”

While customers of C&J have the choice of recycled or SMO gold from the Ity mine now, the plan is to get even more granular.

SMO has the ability to identify certain areas of the ESG spectrum where its member mines are performing particularly well.

This gives jewelers the choice of using gold from a mine whose operations resonate with its brand values.

While the C&J only has gold from the Ity mine now, its customers can request to work with a mine that, for example, is going to reach net zero emissions by the end of the year, or a mine with high female employment rates, or a mine with the highest water recycling rate of any gold mine in the world.

Banner will be right here …

The topic of sustainability comes up in conversations across all sectors of the industry, including the ethical sourcing of gemstones.

SMO noted that several designers it spoke with have begun seeking alternatives to gold because of the effort they put into sourcing their gemstones in a responsible manner; they want to set it in a metal that’s sourced just as responsibly.

The same concept applies to the other hardware used to make jewelry.

To start, C&J Fine Jewelry Makers will only offer SMO gold in the form of 24-karat fine gold casting grain, so if, for example, a customer in the U.S. orders a necklace in SMO gold, the pendant would be but the chain and spring ring or lobster claw wouldn’t be.

Maietta said the next step is to onboard a chain manufacturer in the U.S. that is using SMO gold.

This lobbying of other manufacturers, and spreading awareness, is the kind of industry pressure that has worked in the European market, SMO said, and it wants to create that same influence in the U.S. market.

“Demand for SMO is growing rapidly, and we have seen brands drive this across Europe and Asia, primarily by requesting their manufacturers switch to SMO, which has been very reassuring,” SMO co-founder Charlie Betts said.

“I am, however, delighted to have partnered with C&J Fine Jewelry Makers who can not only influence some of the world’s most iconic brands but are willing to distribute to other manufacturers, in a bid to create large-scale, positive change across North America.”

C&J also has a locational advantage—Rhode Island has a rich history of jewelry manufacturing.

“As recently as the ‘70s and ‘80s, there were more jewelry manufacturing workshops per capita in Rhode Island than anywhere else in the world,” Maietta said.

While many of the original shops are gone, the infrastructure, including refineries and equipment, remains, leaving a whole ecosystem of support for expansion.

Maietta added, “We’re engaged in conversations with chain making manufacturers literally 10 minutes down the road, and they’re supplying to the world, basically.”

SMO gold has been used by designers such as Fernando Jorge, Stephen Webster, and Shaun Leane.

In the U.S., it made an appearance at the 2023 Met Gala, and at this year’s Couture show in Las Vegas, where designer Emily P. Wheeler introduced her first all-SMO collection.

To learn more about SMO, visit the company’s website.