Environmentally Friendly Weddings With Recycled Wedding Rings

The longstanding bridal tradition of wearing something old is being reinterpreted through wedding rings. Ecological jeweler greenKarat is using old family jewelry to make personalized wedding bands.

Brides have long honored the adage "Something old, something new...," by wearing something old at the ceremony. It symbolizes the bride's continuity with her family and the life she is leaving behind. With greenKarat's program, that continuity is carried forward in the couple's rings.

Couples enroll in the myKarat(R) registry to collect unwanted and broken jewelry from family and friends. greenKarat refines the gold from that jewelry and uses it to make their new wedding rings.

The program provides an intimate connection for everyone donating gold, while providing the couple with heirloom keepsakes. The wedding rings, made with sentimental gold, are imbued with the love of their new extended family.

As an added bonus, they receive credit for the value of the gold which is gathered. That credit reduces the cost of the rings.

"Everyone has a piece of jewelry lying around which they don't wear," says greenKarat President Matthew White. "Recycling those pieces for a betrothed couple is romantic, eco-friendly, and financially savvy. We refer to that as A Marriage of Values(R)."

greenKarat is a pioneer in developing ecologically responsible wedding bands, a green wedding trend which is now finding widespread acceptance. A focal point of its mission is ending the environmental damage caused by gold mining, demand for which is driven mainly by jewelry sales. All of greenKarat's designs are made with recycled metal, with an emphasis on post-consumer gold.