about Bread & Roses

James Openheim’s 1911 poem has become a well-known slogan for workers’ rights. Originally written to shine a light on the needs and wants of women garment workers, it remains a relevant demand a century later and easily translates to other industries. Here, I will explain my thoughts about it’s relation to jewelry specifically. I acknowledge the significance of this slogan as it it pertains to the miners, manufacturers, and other workers who do the grunt work of the jewelry industry but the symbolism of bread and roses extends far past protest of social strife.

Bread and roses are symbols of sustenance and beauty. Both are subject to time and will expire. Bread is a staple for which one works while roses may be enjoyed freely and require only momentary leisure (to “stop and smell”). Both are stand-ins for time–time spent working and free time–time being the ultimate luxury. Fundamentally, one must have both. Bread and roses symbolize a life well lived: hard work and the luxuries afforded by it. I see this as an analogy for the jewelry industry.

Jewelry has one physical function which is to adorn the wearer, but glitter is not its only reason for being. Its intrinsic and material value have been in place since prehistory. Jewelry marks status as well as personal and romantic milestones. It is an investment in a physical material, but more importantly, jewelry is an investment in one’s legacy. How many grandmothers have been immortalized in the jewelry they’ve handed to their heirs?

I will never forget the scene in Schindler’s List of the family swallowing their jewels before being ushered off to whatever horror awaited. This was made more meaningful to me by a friend I made at an early age. Ricki was an older woman with swollen ankles whose mother left Germany with her and her sister before the war. She told me about the Turkish rugs they brought with them to America and how her mother would clean them. She used vinegar and salt in a process that struck me as true appreciation for a finely made thing, antiquated and forgotten in the New World I grew up in. Though I fell out of touch with Ricki, one nugget of wisdom has stuck with me: don’t buy junk!

This fall gold hit 1200 USD per ounce. It is a prized natural resource in a league with only diamonds and other precious gems, and oil. Jewelry’s raw materials bolster national economies. As a result they finance wars, genocide even. Mining practices have grossly polluted the environment. Changes in trade laws and advancements shipping have resulted in many manufacturing jobs moving to countries where working conditions are far from ideal. In efforts to cut costs, jobs have been micro-specialized to facilitate mass-production. Jewelry has suffered for it, as many traditional fabrication processes have been squeezed into oblivion.

Improvements in social and environmental policy are introduced as consumers increasingly demand responsible products. Tiffany & Co. has begun sourcing from a US mine with environmental policies. Mannin, a company I helped build in Los Angeles, produces jewelry made from 100 percent recycled gold, foregoing mining altogether. 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Monique Péan has also incorporated environmental responsibility into her design philosophy. And Columbia Gem House as well as other gem wholesalers are sourcing and marketing Fair Trade Certified stones. Walmart, the premier jewelry retailer in the US, has created a Love, Earth line boasting 100% gold traceability, as well as stringent goals for ethics and environmentalism. It is an exciting time for jewelry. Globalism and emerging economies are changing the industry forever. There is huge potential for improvement and growth in new directions.

People will never stop wearing jewelry. Jewelry makes us civilized. It makes us human. Jewelry is likely to live beyond its wearer and extend the wearer’s story to a new generation. Likewise, the history and production of jewelry tells a story of humanity. It highlights the struggles as well as the beauty mankind is capable of creating.