JEWELLERY & WATCHES
CHARLOTTE CORNELIUS
Charlotte Cornelius established her bespoke jewellery design business from her home studio in 1998. Now more than a quarter of a century later, her boutique with inhouse goldsmith workshop – in the heart of Southsea on the UK’s south coast – is thriving. Celebrating ‘jewellery for life’ in all its forms, the eponymous brand has always been passionate about ethical practice, inclusivity and keeping the ancient skills of goldsmithing alive by training future generations. Its jewellery designs are diverse, from signature collections with iconic coastal inspired bubble jewellery, to exquisitely made bespoke engagement, wedding and eternity rings. The jeweller is also expert in the art of jewellery remodelling and transformation.
SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSE
As a business, Charlotte Cornelius has always sought to operate ethically and with integrity in every aspect. All Charlotte Cornelius jewellery is made and hallmarked in England, and all gems are responsibly sourced from trusted UK dealers. They are the first jewellers in Portsmouth licensed to sell fairtrade gold and single mine origin gold. Their vision is to design and create precious ‘jewellery for life’. Their team’s mission is to design and handcraft exceptional, creative, sustainable, bespoke jewellery in their own workshop which will be treasured for generations to come. Their customers never need to compromise between quality and conscience, with their sustainable and environmental responsibility Charlotte Cornelius hope to achieve full transparency and traceability within their industry. Sourcing only conflict free diamonds and working towards becoming fully fair-trade in the production of all their jewellery.
Established
1998
Headquarters
Southsea, UK
Employees
7
First Certified
2023
Categories
Bespoke jewellery design
Website
Distribution
UK
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT CARD
Click below to see the detailed breakdown of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. Charlotte Cornelius has been comprehensively assessed and scored against all key areas of sustainability, including impact on climate, nature and water, treatment of workers and communities as well as how ethically the business is run. Performance is assessed against international agreements, global frameworks, standards and legislation.
REAL CHANGE IN ACTION
SUSTAINABLE SOURCING
Charlotte Cornelius Jewellery has a sustainable sourcing policy where the origin and traceability of materials are at the forefront of their supplier selection criteria. Always seeking to source their precious gemstones from trusted suppliers, from mining to cutting. They support and raise awareness of the female artisanal miners from Tanzania – the Moyo Gems Project. Offering the guaranteed provenance of marine diamonds hand picked by professional divers off the coast of Namibia and South Africa. Charlotte Cornelius has created a comprehensive ESG questionnaire for suppliers to complete and requires suppliers to sign a robust Code of Conduct.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Charlotte Cornelius Jewellery has made efforts to develop a waste management strategy suitable to its business operations including its in-house jewellery workshop. Already recycling or reusing 100% of their metal waste, they are now working to reduce their everyday waste materials from paper to coffee grounds by separating and weighing and recording on a weekly basis. The new strategy covers waste management goals and objectives, targets for reductions, recycling and re-using methods, communication and training, and a waste minimisation record.
SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSE
Charlotte Cornelius Jewellery's sustainability purpose is clearly communicated to its employees, suppliers and customers through their championing and training of new talent to keep the Ancient skills of gold-smithing alive, whilst also embracing state-of-the-art technology in CAD designing, 3D printing and laser welding. Remodelling is promoted as a way of repurposing old jewellery and gemstones into beautiful new pieces that will last for generations to come. Reinforcing their passion to design and produce 'Jewellery for life!’ in all its meanings. Their purpose statement highlights the importance of encouraging sustainability and responsible practice within the jewellery industry.
Charlotte Cornelius Jewellery has a sustainable sourcing policy where the origin and traceability of materials are at the forefront of their supplier selection criteria. Always seeking to source their precious gemstones from trusted suppliers, from mining to cutting. They support and raise awareness of the female artisanal miners from Tanzania – the Moyo Gems Project. Offering the guaranteed provenance of marine diamonds hand picked by professional divers off the coast of Namibia and South Africa. Charlotte Cornelius has created a comprehensive ESG questionnaire for suppliers to complete and requires suppliers to sign a robust Code of Conduct.
Charlotte Cornelius Jewellery has made efforts to develop a waste management strategy suitable to its business operations including its in-house jewellery workshop. Already recycling or reusing 100% of their metal waste, they are now working to reduce their everyday waste materials from paper to coffee grounds by separating and weighing and recording on a weekly basis. The new strategy covers waste management goals and objectives, targets for reductions, recycling and re-using methods, communication and training, and a waste minimisation record.
Charlotte Cornelius Jewellery's sustainability purpose is clearly communicated to its employees, suppliers and customers through their championing and training of new talent to keep the Ancient skills of gold-smithing alive, whilst also embracing state-of-the-art technology in CAD designing, 3D printing and laser welding. Remodelling is promoted as a way of repurposing old jewellery and gemstones into beautiful new pieces that will last for generations to come. Reinforcing their passion to design and produce 'Jewellery for life!’ in all its meanings. Their purpose statement highlights the importance of encouraging sustainability and responsible practice within the jewellery industry.
Standards & Accreditations
To provide evidence of sustainability performance across luxury companies' full value chain, 180+ memberships, accreditations and specialist certifications are taken into account during assessment
FAIRTRADE GOLD
Kimberley Process
National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG)
Canada Mark Certified
ISO 9001 Quality Management
ISO 14001 Environmental Management
JOURNEY SO FAR
07/2021
BEGAN ASSESSMENT
04/2022
BASELINE SUBMISSION
05/2022
RISK MAPPING
06/2023
FINAL SUBMISSION
06/2023
CERTIFIED
A WORD FROM THE OWNER
Trading ethically and valuing every individual equally has always been at the heart of our ethos. As we grow as a team it has become even more vital to ensure that we are not just paying lip-service but taking positive action across every aspect of our business, from the gemstones we source to the sketchbooks we design on.
CHARLOTTE CORNELIUS
OWNER
WHY POSITIVE LUXURY
Environment and social responsibility is something we are all passionate about at Charlotte Cornelius but often it can feel like a daunting task to tackle by yourself. We are undergoing certification in order to get direction and support to achieve our sustainable and social goals to an assessed framework. With widespread greenwashing we want to make sure we are making a difference and achieving our certification will allow our customers to trust that we are actually taking action across every element of the business, not just in one area.
CHARLOTTE CORNELIUS
OWNER