Gem Auction Aims to Raise Awareness of Ethics

RAPAPORT... Columbia Gem House will hold an auction of pieces by 25 designers to raise awareness of human exploitation across the gem and jewelry industry.The company launched an invitational design challenge among the designers to create jewelry using stones it provided as part of its Ethical in Action initiative. Columbia Gem House, which deals in fair trade and responsibly sourced colored gemstones and jewelry, partnered with Susan Fauman, of Susan Fauman Jewelry, and Sabrina Hoffman, designer and owner of jewelry brand Dally+Toil, it said Monday.Since Thanksgiving, customers have been voting for the piece and story they like best. The winner will receive a $250 gift card for Columbia Gem House, and the two runners-up will each get $100 gift cards.From Giving Tuesday, December 1, the pieces will be posted on the group's Ethical in Action Instagram page, with information and backstory on the pieces and designers. The group will auction the jewels from December 4 to 6, benefiting three organizations: We Wield the Hammer, which supports women and girls of African descent in mastering metal fabrication; Peoples Training and Research Center, which seeks justice for victims of occupational and other fatal diseases in India; and Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which promotes awareness of bonded and child-labor issues.  Image: Some of the designs created for the Ethical in Action auction. (Ethical in Action)