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The Teacup Project
The story of the original Teacup
Whilet in Madagascar teaching the locals about better processing using a trommel, one of the ladies from the collective came to me at the mine with a tea cup full of a small amount of rough gemstones that her family had mined in the area. The contents were not so impressive at first glance but it really made me think about how 99.99% of people in the trade, even other organizations doing work to support these types of communities, still have a very colonial perspective when it comes to sourcing their gemstones.
The current business logic is go to the country, find the best stones/only the stones you want and then leave the sellers with 90% of their material untouched. We believe that this approach is no longer morally acceptable or sustainable. If we really want to help and support these struggling communities, "it really shouldn't "just be business".
With this in mind I purchased the entire parcel without removing a single stone and paid her a fair price. I wanted to be able to tell the complete and beautiful story of this teacup of stones literally from the hands that mined them and show that beauty can be found in unexpected places. So for the parcel we have a wonderful story with;· information about the mine itself· how they were mined· and the family that mined them
The current business logic is go to the country, find the best stones/only the stones you want and then leave the sellers with 90% of their material untouched. We believe that this approach is no longer morally acceptable or sustainable. If we really want to help and support these struggling communities, "it really shouldn't "just be business".
With this in mind I purchased the entire parcel without removing a single stone and paid her a fair price. I wanted to be able to tell the complete and beautiful story of this teacup of stones literally from the hands that mined them and show that beauty can be found in unexpected places. So for the parcel we have a wonderful story with;· information about the mine itself· how they were mined· and the family that mined them
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From here I took the stones to Bangkok and there I cleaned them up and got the parcel looking presentable.
I then took the parcel to a good friend of mine who runs a responsible cutting facility in Bangkok. He then organized for the parcel to be cut in its entirety, with much of the work being done by women. The resulting parcel of finished stones was fantastic. When you look at the original teacup most people might see one or two stones worth cutting, but on seeing the finished complete "teacup collection" you can really see how much beauty goes unnoticed and unappreciated.
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Finished Teacup Contents:Topaz- 29.62ct, Garnet- 0.91ct, Sapphire- 7.62ct, Quartz- 91.90ct, Tourmaline- 3.36ct, Spinel- 2.76ct,Chrysoberyl- 1.02ct, Zircon- 9.81ct
I feel that this parcel has a fantastic story and would make for an unbelievable collection of jewellery if the whole parcel was used for a single collection (the "teacup collection" as it were). I think it would also be a great first step to building an appreciation for the type of gem material that is left to women to sell and usually never able to be sold or sold for a pittance.
Creating an appreciation for such material could be the start of a revolution in the trade that could potentially have a huge impact on the people that are in most need of support. It is very easy to sell a good gemstone and it is very safe to only buy gems you have on order, but this only helps the people least at risk within the supply chain and is a huge detriment to those upstream in the supply chain. RGT's ultimate goal is to create a sustainable market for the previously overlooked gems, of at risk and women miners and traders.
Creating an appreciation for such material could be the start of a revolution in the trade that could potentially have a huge impact on the people that are in most need of support. It is very easy to sell a good gemstone and it is very safe to only buy gems you have on order, but this only helps the people least at risk within the supply chain and is a huge detriment to those upstream in the supply chain. RGT's ultimate goal is to create a sustainable market for the previously overlooked gems, of at risk and women miners and traders.