Is ethical jewelry possible?  Just because the gold or silver is recycled, does that make it ethical?  Just because the gemstone has been used before, does that extirpate opprobrium that may cling to its origin?

I fail to understand how using recycled mined materials makes one iota of difference to the ethical nature of a mined material.  No amount of reuse can change the ethical nature of a material.  Afterall ethics does not reside in the material as an inherent property. The ethics is in the mind of the user of the gold.  And while the mind of the ethical jeweler may be able to view recycled gold as ethical, to me that is no more than a sleigh of hand, sleigh of mind subterfuge.

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