Jewelry Designers and owners of Moonrise Jewelry, Meredith Restein and Liz Watson, use their heads and their hearts when making jewelry, most especially when it comes to their Premier Eco-Jewelry Collection. As a result, they've started to get some pretty good press and much deserved recognition for their stance on the importance of using eco-friendly materials.

From The Green Guide: In creating the collection, it was important to Moonrise's owners, Meredith Restein and Liz Watson, to use gems sourced in the U.S. so as to avoid the social problems associated with "conflict" diamonds--which often fund wars and terrorist regimes--and Burmese gems that are extracted under inhumane conditions. Currently, they're using Wyoming jade, Oregon opals, Nevada purple sage Chalcedony and Arizona Mesa Verde peridot, with their only non-U.S.-sourced gems being fire opals from Mexico. These gems have the additional benefit of coming from small-scale mining operations with little environmental impact; workers extract them using hand tools instead of heavy machinery that can destroy ecosystems on its way into and out of a mine.

Furthermore, the company uses a gem supplier who has strict environmental and labor standards, including buying only gems that have been produced by people receiving fair wages for their labor and restoring a mine site to its original condition once mining has been completed. The supplier maintains strict control over the supply chain, tracking each gem from extraction to cutting to make sure that no unethically sourced or environmentally damaging gems make it to customers.

Though Moonrise Jewelry is particular as to where their jewelry components come from, they still have managed to come up with some beautiful jewelry designs.




Fortuna Earrings
24K gold plated earrings with Mexican Fire Opal, Purple Sage Chalcedony, and Mesa Verde Peridot




Sedona Necklace
Wyoming Green Jade and faceted Mesa Verde Peridot




Minden Earrings
Sterling silver with Purple Sage Chalcedony and Mesa Verde Peridot