For many years, Chopard has taken concrete action to help shape a more responsible luxury industry, fully aware of its environmental impact and its responsibility toward the thousands of individuals involved in its activities worldwide. As an early member of key industry organizations such as the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the Maison has distinguished itself through its pioneering commitment to ethical gold and the development of Lucent Steel™, consistently adopting a proactive stance within the sector.
Gold, a fundamental material in Chopard’s production, has naturally become a central focus in the Maison’s Journey to Sustainable Luxury. In July 2018, Chopard reached a major milestone by exclusively using ethical gold in its workshops, meeting the most stringent international environmental and social standards. Within this approach, gold has been sourced through two transparent and traceable channels: responsibly produced artisanal gold and CoC gold certified by the RJC. The RJC’s Chain of Custody (CoC) standard defines the requirements for identifying and tracking eligible materials, including certified recycled gold from legitimate sources.
In 2026, the majority of Chopard’s ethical gold was sourced from artisanal and small-scale mines accredited by the Swiss Better Gold Association. Responsible sourcing of artisanal gold is essential to Chopard’s strategy, as it enables full traceability from mine to finished product while generating positive and tangible socio-economic and environmental impact. Artisanal and small-scale mining involves millions of men and women around the world—individuals working alone, with their families, or in cooperatives—using basic exploration and extraction methods. Since 2017, this program has supported lower-impact extraction methods and improved the living and working conditions of over 5,000 miners and gold panners in Peru and Colombia. The Maison does not source from large-scale industrial mines.
A key objective is to continue generating positive impact within artisanal and small-scale mining communities by helping address local challenges related for example to water access, education, and energy. To achieve this, the Maison works closely with international organizations such as Swiss Better Gold Association, which are committed to helping gold miners adopt more socially and environmentally responsible practices. The premium paid by Chopard provides additional support for energy transition, infrastructure development, and the creation of alternative economic opportunities alongside mining activities.
Since 1978, Chopard has been one of the few watch and jewellery manufacturers to operate its own foundry. This independent approach allows the Maison not only to guarantee the origin of the gold used in its workshops but also to remelt production scraps in-house. This direct reprocessing ensures traceability of alloys, avoids electrochemical refining, reduces energy consumption, and eliminates the use of chemicals. It also significantly cuts emissions linked to material transport.
