2007 Archives: Toby Pomeroy Recycled Metal Eco-Jewelry
Oh we swoon, positively swoon for Toby Pomeroy jewelry. Classic, eternal designs with modern, incomparable details, each piece is made by hand in his Oregon-based studio, which also serves as a sort of eco-jewelry collective where he fosters emerging talent and immerses devotees in ancient goldsmithing techniques. Hammered Cascade earrings, gleaming Gold Cuff bracelets, the Eclipse Hoops studded with diamonds—these are the type of pieces you’ll pull out of your jewelry box again and again to rave after rave, no matter where you wear ‘em. And can we talk about the rings? We want to get (re)married just so we can lose our plain-Jane band in favor of Pomeroy’s thick gold swath of a Swale Ring, a signature piece on any hand.
But the best thing about this jewelry visionary is that his sense of environmental responsibility is as strong as his design esthetic. In 2005 Pomeroy asked Hoover and Strong, the nation’s largest gold refiner and supplier, to make recycled, purified, re-alloyed gold and silver that he could use to manufacture jewelry; today, EcoGold and EcoSilver is the fastest growing segment of the company’s business.
Toby Pomeroy only works in recycled metals, and he only uses conflict-free gemstones. Plus, as a member of Ethical Metalsmiths, Oxfam and No Dirty Gold, he works to convince other designers that recycled metals are preferable to the devastating environmental and human impact created from conventional mining practices. Now if we could only get him to melt down that wedding ring…
