Selling Gold and Buying Antique or Pre-Owned Jewellery: More Sustainable Choices

Buying an antique or pre-owned piece of jewellery means extending the life of an object that already exists. Selling gold jewellery that is no longer worn can also allow it to return to the market or, when it no longer has value as a piece of jewellery, enable its precious metal to be recycled.

This circular approach is particularly well suited to gold. As an exceptionally stable metal, gold can be melted down, refined and reused many times without losing its fundamental properties.

Recycled Gold and Newly Mined Gold: Very Different Impacts

Primary gold production involves a long series of operations: extracting and transporting ore, crushing and grinding it, processing the material, recovering the gold and finally refining the metal.

Because gold is generally present in relatively low concentrations in ore, large quantities of rock often have to be processed to produce a comparatively small amount of precious metal.

Mining therefore accounts for a substantial part of the carbon footprint of primary gold. Research published by the World Gold Council shows that mining operations are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions associated with gold production.

Recycling also requires energy: jewellery must be collected, sorted, melted and refined. However, it avoids one fundamental stage: extracting new raw material from the ground.

Mercury and Artisanal Gold Mining

One of the most significant environmental issues associated with gold concerns the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

Mercury can be used to form an amalgam with gold contained in ore. This amalgam is then heated to remove the mercury and recover the precious metal.

Although relatively simple, this technique can have serious consequences. Mercury may be released into the atmosphere or contaminate soil and waterways.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), artisanal and small-scale gold mining is currently the largest source of anthropogenic mercury releases into the environment.

An estimated 10 to 15 million people work directly in this sector worldwide.

It is important, however, not to generalise: mercury use is primarily associated with certain forms of artisanal and small-scale mining and does not characterise the entire gold industry.

Cyanide in Industrial Gold Mining

On an industrial scale, a significant proportion of gold production relies on cyanidation.

Cyanide can be used to dissolve gold contained in ore so that the precious metal can subsequently be recovered. Although effective, this process requires strict procedures for the transport, storage and treatment of chemicals and mining residues.

Because of its toxicity, its use has been the subject of considerable debate. In 2010, the European Parliament called for a general ban on cyanide-based mining technologies within the European Union. Such a general ban was ultimately not introduced.

Contrary to a common misconception, however, not every gold mine necessarily uses cyanide. Extraction methods vary according to the characteristics of the ore and the mining process employed.

Gold Mining and Deforestation

Opening and operating a mine also requires infrastructure: extraction areas, roads, processing facilities, tailings storage and energy networks.

In some tropical regions, gold mining therefore contributes directly or indirectly to deforestation.

A study focusing on South America estimated that approximately 1,680 km² of tropical forest was lost between 2001 and 2013 in areas associated with gold mining.

Beyond the loss of forest itself, mining activity can fragment natural habitats, disturb soils and contribute to the contamination of aquatic environments.

Recycling Gold or Preserving the Jewellery?

In the field of antique jewellery, an important distinction should be made.

When a broken piece of jewellery with little intrinsic historical or aesthetic interest is melted down to recover its precious metal, this is recycling.

When an Art Deco ring, a 19th-century brooch or a 1940s bracelet is restored and worn by a new owner, the jewellery itself is not recycled: it is reused.

This second approach has a particular advantage because it preserves not only the raw materials but also the craftsmanship already invested in the piece: metalworking, stone setting, gemstone cutting, polishing and the skills of the original jeweller.

An antique jewel can therefore continue to fulfil its original purpose many decades — and sometimes more than a century — after it was made.

The Gold We Already Own Is a Resource

A considerable quantity of gold is already held by private individuals in the form of inherited jewellery, broken chains, wedding rings, outdated bracelets or pieces that are simply no longer worn.

This existing stock represents a genuine resource.

When a jewel has aesthetic, historical or commercial interest, it can return to the market and begin a new chapter. When it does not, its precious metal can be recovered and returned to the production cycle.

Recycling already represents a significant proportion of global gold supply. According to the World Gold Council, approximately 1,404 tonnes of recycled gold returned to the market in 2025, compared with around 3,672 tonnes supplied by mines.

Buying Antique Jewellery: Extending Its Life Rather Than Producing Anew

Buying antique or pre-owned jewellery does not eliminate every environmental impact. A piece still needs to be assessed, sometimes restored, and transported.

Its principal advantage, however, is straightforward: the jewellery already exists.

The gold has already been extracted, the gemstones have already been cut and the setting has already been made. Choosing to preserve and pass on an existing jewel rather than systematically replacing it with a newly manufactured piece extends the useful life of both its raw materials and the craftsmanship that transformed them.

This is also one of the principles behind Héritage de France®: preserving and returning antique jewellery to circulation whenever it deserves to be conserved, while allowing precious metals to be recycled when a piece can no longer, or no longer merits to, be preserved as jewellery.

Before extracting more gold from the earth, there is already a considerable resource available to us: the gold that has been mined and is already present in our jewellery.