Mined Gold Dropped by Pandora, the World’s Largest Jeweler

Pandora, the world’s leading jeweler in terms of products sold, has made a groundbreaking decision to cease the use of mined silver and gold in its manufacturing process.

The Danish company, renowned for its popular charm bracelets ranging from $65 to $95, now exclusively utilizes recycled precious metals, significantly reducing its carbon footprint, Reuters reports.

Pandora announced that it has now achieved its target to only use recycled silver and gold in all of its jewel manufacturing. By using recycled instead of newly mined metals, the retailer will avoid producing 58,000 tons of CO2 every year.

As mining requires more energy and resources than recycling, this shift reduces significant greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon footprint of recycled silver is one-third compared to mined silver, while the recycling of gold emits less than 1 percent of the carbon emissions from mining new gold.

Allowing time for the depletion of the existing inventory, Pandora expects that it will craft all new jewelry with 100 percent recycled silver and gold in the second half of 2024. This is a small jump from its previous target, which saw the company achieve 97 percent of the metals recycled in 2023.

Pandora pledged 100 percent recycled silver and gold by 2025

Alexander Lacik, CEO at Pandora, said: “Precious metals can be recycled forever without any loss of quality. Silver originally mined centuries ago is just as good as new, and improved recycling can significantly reduce the climate footprint of the jewelry industry.”

Previously, Pandora used to purchase about 340 tons of silver and one ton of gold, generating about 264,224 tons of CO2 through its supply chain.

“Using recycled metals cuts Pandora’s indirect CO2 emissions by around 58,000 tons annually,” Reuters quoted Mads Twomey-Madsen, the Senior Vice President of Communications and Sustainability at Pandora, as saying.

In 2020, Pandora pledged to source 100 percent recycled silver and gold by 2025, however, the company has reached this milestone earlier than expected thanks to a strong commitment from its suppliers.

While the adoption of recycled metals presents environmental benefits, it also introduces unique challenges, notably the risk associated with stolen gold being sold as scrap for recycling.

In response, Pandora has implemented a chain of custody standard developed by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).

This standard includes exclusions, such as gold coins and gold bars, as a source of recycled gold.

The jewelry manufacturer and retailer was founded in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen. The company started as a family-run jewelry shop in Copenhagen.

Pandora is known for its customizable charm bracelets, designer rings, earrings, necklaces and (now discontinued) watches. The company has two production sites in Thailand and markets its products in more than 100 countries on six continents with more than 6,700 points of sale.