The designer stated that local materials reduce the impact on the environment and are aesthetically pleasing.

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In Sian Evans's new collection called Tanis, huge waves of off-white hovering on the surface of the agate ring. "It's like looking at the sea in a frothy, frothy sea," said the London-based jeweler, an apt description of her discovery of the rock on Dorset Beach.

Now, agate is carved and inlaid on a simple gold ring inspired by ancient jewellery from the British Museum, reflecting Ms. Evans’ careful consideration of her collection, which she calls her latest “exploration to create a lighter carbon footprint” .

Local British gems and minerals may lack the brilliant brilliance and rich colors of gems from Brazil or East Africa, which are more geologically diverse corners of the world, but they are looking for new audiences among jewelry manufacturers in pursuit of more sustainable production or uniqueness. The aesthetics.

"Britain is rich in minerals throughout the country," said Robin Hansen, curator of minerals and gems at the Natural History Museum in London. Stones such as agate and jasper are varieties of quartz, found in many places, and have been used for decoration for thousands of years. Jet deposits are found all over the world, but the best example comes from the seaside town of Whitby in Yorkshire, which was used to make bead necklaces during the Bronze Age 4,500 years ago. Others include Cairngorm Quartz, a smoky crystal from the Scottish Highlands; gold from Wales and Scotland; and garnet from Elie Ness, Scotland, locally known as Ruby Bay.

Queen Victoria played a role in making some of these local gems popular during her reign. Scottish cobblestone jewelry combines the country's rich agate and jasper, and first became popular in the 18th century. But when the Queen fell in love with Scotland after her first visit to Scotland in 1842, it reached new heights, describing it as "the proudest and best country in the world" in her diary. She also promoted Whitby jet for the mourning jewelry she wore after the death of Prince Albert in 1861.

Joanna Hardy, a gemologist and expert on the BBC's "Antique Roadshow", said she saw a lot of jet and Scottish pebbles while filming the show. "Native gems have been used, but it is because of Queen Victoria that they became popular in a special way," she said.

Today, most gem mining in the UK is restricted or completely banned due to depletion of mineral deposits and environmental problems. In Cornwall and West Devon mining areas, Ms. Evans’ agate may have been formed 240 million years ago and then drifted along the south coast to Dorset Beach, where it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mining along the rugged cliffs of Whitby is no longer allowed, although the beach is often crowded with rock hounds, amateur stone hunters, who comb the jets on the coast, which is a mineral that is the fossil remains of the ancestor of the monkey tree.

But Blue John is a semi-precious mineral, a kind of fluorite with unique blue-violet and yellow-white stripes. It has been mined in Castleton in the Peak District since the early 18th century or even earlier, Ms. Hansen said .

Chris Sellors is the owner of CW Sellors Fine Jewelry, which has 19 stores in northern England (including Castleton and Whitby) selling jet and blue john jewelry. He said that the only remaining Blue John mine in Castleton can only produce half a ton of material per year.

In the heyday of this material in the 18th century, it was discovered in large numbers and widely used in decorations. According to Mr. Sellers, in 1870 alone, a manufacturer named Matthew Boulton successfully acquired 17 tons of Blue John, whose beautifully decorated gilded and blue John works are now in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace.

Mr. Sellors said that nowadays, because blue diamonds only appear in small deposits, this exquisite gemstone is very suitable for making jewelry after being reinforced with mother-of-pearl backing.

With the establishment of the W. Hamond Whitby Jett Museum in 2019 and the annual gem exhibition in Tucson, Mr. Sellors is trying to promote British gems beyond tourist trinkets. "This is a small market, but we are very proud of our work," he said. "We hope to promote it as a material. Tanzanite is very rare, but blue Johnite is even rarer, and so is jet stone."

For decades, Ms. Evans has been exploring the sustainability of jewelry, including when she taught jewelry design at Central Saint Martins from 2001 to 2014. "At this point, the word'sustainable' is completely meaningless," she said, more of a marketing term than a well-researched, corresponding process and traceable material method.

For her, the latter means using only recycled gold and gems from clients’ old jewelry, or making her works entirely within the confines of her Hackney studio. Her Tanis collection features local gems discovered and aims to draw attention to the environmental damage caused by mining. "Now I can say that anything I produce is not mined," she said. "The precious metals and diamonds I use are recycled. The stones here are found, not mined, so the environment is not affected."

Being alone in the studio during the lockdown gave her the opportunity to practice the stone carving skills she learned from the British artist and jeweler Charlotte de Syllas a few years ago. Ms. Evans said she enjoyed this time very much, which convinced her that art, crafts and strong concepts are the keys to conveying the possibility of more sustainable development. "You need to do these things very well so that people can realize that recycled materials will not affect the quality of the objects you are creating," she said.

When Sarah Madeleine Bru started designing her first collection two years ago, she was determined to consider sustainability in everything she did, from sourcing metals and gems to packaging. The French-born designer who lives in London and launched the collection in May has been a freelancer for other companies for many years, and said that the larger the business, the more difficult and costly it is to integrate into sustainable practices.

Her design includes a ring with a custom-cut egg-shaped jasper discovered by a Scottish gem hunter, and she said she found that the entire process of using such materials was creative and environmentally sustainable. She said: "The nature and traditions around us will give us a lot of inspiration."

Jacqueline Cullen has been with Jet Company for 18 years. Although her suppliers often slide down the Whitby cliffs, looking for jets left from abandoned Victorian mines, her use of materials is more aesthetic and conceptual than environmentally friendly. .

"This is a very sensual, beautiful, and tactile material," said Ms. Karen, a London jeweler, who was initially trained as a sculptor. "And I like the idea of ​​taking a piece of heritage from the history of British jewelry and transforming it."

Ms. Cullen also works on agate, but said that she prefers the pattern and color of Botswana stone compared to the British example. Given the hardness of agate, she is learning stone carving skills from Mike and Sandra Walford. The couple now live in Whitby and they have 87 years of experience in gem processing.

Mr. Walford said he was pleased that Ms. Cullen helped revitalize interest in British gemstones and freed many people from their frequent presence in uninspired mass market environments. ," He said.

However, Ms. Hardy pointed out that it is this quality that gives them their unique appeal. "These gems provide people with a wider palette," she said. "After all, jewelry is not just to shine."