Most jewellers can't answer this question. Not because they're hiding something, necessarily — but because the supply chain for gold is long, fragmented, and deliberately opaque. By the time gold reaches a jeweller's bench, it has typically passed through a refiner, a bullion dealer, a findings supplier, and possibly a casting house. Each handoff dilutes accountability.
After 20 years working inside the global jewellery supply chain — from diamond wholesalers to some of Australia's most respected handmade jewellery studios — I've seen this firsthand. And I want to give you an honest account of what "ethical gold" actually means, what the credible benchmarks are, and what questions are worth asking before you buy.
The Problem With Vague Ethical Claims
Pick up almost any piece of fine jewellery today and you'll find some version of "responsibly sourced" or "ethically made" in the product description. These phrases have become wallpaper — present everywhere, meaningful almost nowhere.
That's not cynicism. It's a structural problem. Gold travels through too many hands for a retailer three steps removed from the mine to make credible claims about its origin. Without a documented chain of custody — a verifiable record of where the gold came from, which refiner processed it, and under what standards — "ethical" is just a marketing word.
The benchmarks that actually mean something are set by institutions like the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), and the CME Group. These aren't retail certifications designed to make consumers feel good — they're the standards that central banks and sovereign wealth funds use when they buy gold. Demanding that a refiner meet all three simultaneously is genuinely rigorous.
What LBMA Accreditation Actually Means
The LBMA Good Delivery standard is the closest thing the gold market has to a universal quality and integrity benchmark. To be accredited, a refiner must meet strict requirements around:
- Gold purity and assay accuracy
- Chain of custody documentation
- Responsible sourcing — including conflict-free origin and compliance with OECD Due Diligence Guidance
- Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing controls
An LBMA-accredited bar can be traded on the London market and accepted by central banks. That's the standard. It has nothing to do with marketing and everything to do with verifiable process.
At Lucano, I source gold exclusively from ABC Refinery — Australia's only independent refiner simultaneously accredited by the LBMA, the SGE, and the CME Group. That combination is not common. It means the gold in every piece I make has been processed to the same standard demanded by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Handmade in Australia: What That Actually Involves
Beyond the gold itself, "handmade" is another term worth interrogating. In the jewellery industry it can mean anything from "assembled from pre-made components in Australia" to "fabricated entirely by hand from raw material."
Every Lucano piece is made in my studio in the Byron Bay hinterland in Northern NSW. That means:
- The gold arrives from ABC Refinery as refined material
- It's worked by hand — formed, soldered, set, and finished — in my own studio
- There's no casting house in the middle, no overseas manufacturing, no anonymous production run
This matters for quality as much as ethics. A piece made this way carries the direct accountability of the person who made it. If something isn't right, you're emailing the same hands that built it.
The Questions Worth Asking Any Jeweller
If you're buying fine jewellery and you care where it came from, here are the questions that will separate substance from marketing:
Which refiner supplied your gold? A jeweller who knows this answer — and can name a specific, accredited refiner — has a traceable supply chain. One who says "we work with reputable suppliers" almost certainly doesn't.
What accreditation does that refiner hold? LBMA Good Delivery is the gold standard. RJC (Responsible Jewellery Council) certification across the supplier network adds another layer.
Where is the piece physically made? Not designed — made. There's a difference between a piece designed locally and manufactured overseas, and one fabricated entirely in an Australian studio.
Can you provide chain of custody documentation? For a piece of this value, documentation should be available. If it isn't, the ethical claim is unverifiable.
Why This Matters for the Piece You Wear Every Day
Fine jewellery is unusual as a purchase. You wear it against your skin, every day, for years — sometimes decades. It marks real moments. It gets handed down.
That kind of object deserves the same rigour you'd apply to anything else you care about deeply. Not because every consumer needs to become a supply chain expert, but because the questions above are simple — and the answers tell you a great deal about whether a jeweller actually stands behind their work.
The jewellery industry has run on opacity for a long time. That's starting to change. And the change is being driven not by vague commitments, but by jewellers who can name their refiner, show their certifications, and tell you exactly where every gram of material came from.
That's the standard I hold myself to at Lucano. I'd encourage you to hold every jeweller you buy from to the same one.
— Lucano is a boutique fine jewellery studio in the Byron Bay hinterland, NSW. Every piece is handmade using gold sourced exclusively from ABC Refinery, Australia's only independent LBMA, SGE, and CME Group accredited refiner. View the current collection →
