In 2017, Eliza Walter founded Lylie with the ambition of creating fine jewellery without relying on newly mined materials. Today, 100 per cent of the metal used in the brand’s ready-to-wear collections comes from its Gold Exchange programme, through which customers return unwanted gold, platinum and silver jewellery in exchange for credit towards new pieces.
The London-based, B Corp-certified jeweller launched the initiative in 2021, embedding circularity at the core of its operations. “We are constantly thinking about material as something that already exists, rather than something newly sourced, which naturally brings a greater sense of intention to the process,” Walter says.
“From a pricing perspective, it allows clients to offset the cost of a new piece in a tangible way, but it also reframes value, as the gold they bring in becomes part of the story of what is created next.”
The credit offered depends on the weight and purity of the gold being exchanged, ranging from a few hundred pounds to several thousand for heavier or higher-carat pieces.
Lylie is not alone. A growing number of jewellers are formalising in-house recycling schemes, turning dormant jewels into both raw material and purchasing power.
At Monica Vinader, demand for such services is accelerating. The UK company reports a 30 per cent increase in its recycling programme. “Against a backdrop of rising gold prices, this shift is driven by both economic and environmental factors, underlining the importance of making circular options simple and accessible,” says Sebastian Picardo, chief executive.
The uptick reflects a broader shift across the industry, as rising precious metal prices and changing consumer attitudes are pushing recycling from a niche service to a more central part of the retail proposition.
“The run-up in gold price has been strong enough to push through several price points for gold jewellery that weighs only a few grammes,” says Matthew Piggott, director of gold and silver at research consultancy Metals Focus. Yet the recent surge in recycling, he argues, should not be mistaken for a structural transformation. “Overall, the increase in gold recycling is largely a function of higher prices encouraging more metal out of the hands of holders and back to the market,” he says.
Pricing remains central to how these programmes operate. “There will always be a discount to the metal price when taking in old jewellery,” Piggott notes, reflecting the costs associated with dismantling, testing, removing stones and refining.
Nevertheless, higher gold prices mean higher returns for consumers. “More pertinent is that new jewellery will be more expensive, so to mitigate the cost of new purchases, encouraging recycling as part of the business model can grow in importance,” he says, adding that such schemes may also enhance a brand’s appeal to sustainability-conscious clients.
At London-based Minka Jewels, founder Lucy Crowther encourages clients not simply to recycle, but to reimagine. Pieces can be melted down and credited towards a new design or, where possible, reworked directly. “There’s something quite satisfying about transforming something forgotten into a piece that feels completely fresh, but still carries a sense of its past,” she says.
The process begins with what the client already has, both materially and emotionally. Some elements are reused, others refined for credit, with new stones or additional gold introduced where needed.
Other brands are finding that recycling schemes reveal as much about consumer psychology as they do about material flows.
Rachel Entwistle, a London-based jeweller, has observed that customers are often reluctant to discard jewellery outright, even when it is no longer worn. Her studio offers two routes: existing customers can return gold vermeil pieces for credit towards solid gold, extending their lifecycle, while both new and existing clients can trade in unwanted gold jewellery to be recycled and credited towards a new purchase.
“We try to shift the framing slightly,” she says. “It is not simply about extracting maximum monetary value, but about reconnecting people with the making process and with places like [London’s] Hatton Garden, where jewellery is traditionally crafted and understood at a material level. It is about finding the most meaningful next step for each piece.”
Trust, however, remains a critical factor. Recycling schemes require customers to relinquish items of both financial and sentimental value, often without a clear understanding of their worth.
At Auree Jewellery, another UK brand, transparency is built into the process. Customers typically begin with a consultation, sharing images or discussing pieces before sending them in for assessment. Items are then weighed — separated by metal type and hallmark — with photographic confirmation provided, alongside reference to current daily gold and silver prices, before any decision to proceed is made. Once melted, the material is converted into a credit voucher, often rounded up, to be used towards a new purchase.
In a market that is saturated with fast-fashion jewellery destined for landfill, this also serves to reinforce the value of precious materials, says founder Amelia Carmichael. It highlights the distinction between solid gold and products marketed as “gold jewellery” that are, in reality, base metals coated with a thin layer of gold — items which, if melted down, hold little to no residual value, she argues.
Whether these recycling programmes mark a lasting shift or simply a response to high prices remains to be seen. Even so, the structures emerging around them may prove more enduring than the market conditions driving them.
