NEWS

Hardness, durability, sparkle and purity. The characteristics of sapphires have made them one of the most valuable precious stones we can find in nature. The sapphire is the second hardest mineral of the planet, with a hardness only surpassed by that of the diamond.

The characteristic that makes sapphires very special gems is their chromatic variety. Traditionally we associate the sapphire with blue, but we can also find examples in warm tones and with different degrees of intensity: lemon yellow, green, deep orange, mauve and even soft pinkish tones. The changes in colour of sapphires is partly explained by the presence in different percentages of aluminium oxide and titanium. A gem is a geological coincidence that shows us the unique nature of our planet, reminding us of its magnificence yet delicate balance. The beauty of sapphires enables Majoral to create jewellery that pays homage to the splendour of mother Earth.

The sapphire has been one of the most valued precious stones throughout history. The term “sapphire” in itself comes from the Greek “sappheiros” taken from the Hebrew word “sapires”, which means neatness. The use by different civilisations of sapphires has resulted in giving them many meanings. Buddhists give this gem a strong symbolic meaning of peace, serenity and happiness and even in the Middle Ages sapphires were used as symbols of love. And in fact today, sapphires are still strongly linked to loyalty and commitment.

The biggest deposits of sapphires are found in the African continent, South America, Thailand, India and Australia. As occurs with any precious stone, the extraction process of sapphires is complex and may have a negative impact on the environment.

Wennick-Lefèvre is a family project, which with time has been able to establish a network of contacts who share values of proximity, with an ecological and social conscience. A way of doing things that enables them to guarantee that all their sapphires have been obtained from small-scale artisanal mines, with low impact on the environment and in safe conditions.

Wennick-Lefèvre, founded in Denmark, works globally to offer sapphires extracted naturally and with respect for the environment. They adopt the commitment of certifying that the sapphires are extracted, free of treatments, in small controlled artisanal in Madagascar and Sri Lanka. “Only a natural precious stone is a true representation of our planet: pure, beautiful and complex”, they state in their manifesto. Cutting sapphires is a complex process, giving form to the uncut mineral so that an art sparkles with all its splendour, a skill that requires precision, time and experience. For this reason, in 2008 Wennick-Lefèvre backed the creation of a workshop in Sri Lanka, where specialised workers are entrusted to polish and cut the sapphires in safe working conditions and respectful to the environment. The location is no coincidence, since the men and women working in the workshop come from a village called Kuruwita, close to Rathnapura, where the trade of gem cutter has been practiced and perfected for centuries. Majoral collaborates with Wennick-Lefèvre with the desire to discover the history behind the gems used in the workshop, always with the intention of offering jewellery of which they can feel proud.

Majoral pays homage to sapphires in the Sapphire Ethical Symbol collection. Designed by Roc Majoral and inspired by universal ethical values, the collection was created with the aim of offering jewellery capable of recounting tales of love, nature and solidarity.

We have a commitment to integrating and normalising the careful selection of the materials worked in our workshop. Sapphire Ethical Symbol emerges as Majoral’s commitment to fair and responsible jewellery, as well as universal ethical values.

In this collection, Majoral combines natural sapphires certified by Wennick-Lefèvre with Fairmined gold, creating insignia pieces, emblems of a better way of exercising the trade of jeweller. A piece of jewellery is a symbol, a gift, a talisman that enables us to carry places, moments and people with us. Majoral gives depth and meaning to its creations with the conviction that jewellery, when fairer, is more precious.