LUXURY WATCH EDIT
ROX MAGAZINE
GOLD
FOR THE SOUL Precious-metal powerhouse Chopard is setting a shining example with its ongoing commitment to crafting watches (and jewellery) entirely from ethical gold. Words by Alex Doak.
I
t wasn’t so much a product as an idea that stood out at Baselworld, all of five years ago. Thanks to Chopard’s headline men’s launch, the more conscientious visitor was left questioning the ethical motives of any other brand who encases their timepieces in precious metal. (Virtually everyone, then.) Limited to 25 pieces, the ‘L.U.C Tourbillon QF Fairmined’ was the world’s first watch made with Fairmined-certified gold – a certification that guarantees the metal was mined in a responsible manner and that the miners themselves receive fair payment and an overall premium. Given 108
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the zeitgeist of ‘woke’ global responsibility, it’s surprising enough that the watch world has taken so long; what’s more suprising is that the standard itself was only defined as recently as 2011, by the South American Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM). ARM is an NGO working in close collaboration with gold industry experts to support and enable Artisanal and Small-scale Miner communities (ASMs) in Latin America, providing a stable route to market and a fair deal for the miners and their communities when selling their gold. Chopard had been working
