Myne London: Sourcing Emeralds with a Mission
In 2018, sisters Fiona Wellington and Kate Murray Gordos founded Myne London (www.mynelondon.co.uk), a London-based ethical emerald supplier with a goal of supporting women in the gem trade. Their emeralds are sourced from lesser-known mines in Swat Valley, Pakistan, where they aim to create a sustainable and responsible emerald industry and a lasting positive economic impact in the community. Inspired by their childhood memories of Pakistan, Wellington and Gordos are dedicated to making Swat Valley’s emeralds globally recognized for their traceability and intense vivid green color (figure 1), all while empowering women.
Myne London partners with local groups in the Swat Valley region, including miners and mine owners. In addition to sourcing the emeralds directly from the miners, Myne London is committed to keeping the lapidary work in Islamabad and providing opportunities for women. Partnering with a local company, they train and hire Pakistani women to cut and polish the emeralds (figure 2), a profession traditionally dominated in the region by men. Myne London, which employs a 75% female workforce, collaborates with jewelry designers worldwide—mainly women—to create exquisite pieces featuring the high-quality emerald melee, in addition to designing its own fine jewelry collections.
But Wellington and Gordos aspire to do even more for their female lapidaries. In 2021, they started the Myne London Foundation, a charitable organization designed to give their employees better access to education, which is limited for girls in the country. Illiteracy rates are higher than 50% for adult women in Pakistan. The money raised by the foundation assists the daughters of female employees with tuition costs, school uniforms, and transportation. Without money to pay for these costs, children in the northern regions of Pakistan often do not attend school. The foundation receives 10% of Myne London’s profits.
In March 2022, Myne London hosted an inaugural charity ball for the foundation, raising nearly $20,000, which has already been put to good use in Pakistan. “We immediately actioned to pay for the daughter of one of our lapidary workers to attend school from now on in Islamabad. She is six years old. We plan to provide this for her for as long as she wishes to stay in education,” said Wellington. “We also are committed to find ways to support girls in sport, because that is a great leveler and improves confidence as well as health.”
Outside of Pakistan, Myne London continues its ethos of women’s economic empowerment by collaborating with women around the world in jewelry design. Last year, the company partnered with Los Angeles–based jewelry designer Octavia Zamagias of Octavia Elizabeth, who shares the same social goals. Using 18K gold, Zamagias created several stunning pieces featuring Swat Valley emeralds (figure 3). Looking ahead, Myne London is planning jewelry collaborations with three other talented women—two based in London and the other in Florence.
The firm recently partnered with Opsydia, a gemstone security specialist, to permanently place its brand logo beneath the surface of the Swat Valley emerald melee. Encouraged by Opsydia’s success placing identifiers in melee diamonds, Myne London aims to promote traceability using this innovative technology.
With all their success in Swat Valley, Myne London hopes to expand to other areas of the world someday, using the same model for ethics, traceability, and women’s empowerment. But for now, they remain focused on the women and emeralds of Swat Valley.
