As director of the offer
and image of a beautiful jewelry brand, my mission was to bring this brand back
into the spirit of the times.
We were launching a lot of
collections, about 12 a year. To supply ourselves with raw materials, we
went to Bangkok to buy precious stones, to India
colored stones, to Antwerp diamonds, and to Japan pearls...
Great work, really
interesting and a great team! No one questioned the origin of the stones and I
was happy to create beauty.
Everything changed the day I was invited to a conference of the Care Association. That day, I discovered the reality of working conditions in the ruby mines in Madagascar and Sri Lanka. In these so-called artisanal mines, men and women extract stones from the rock, submerged, from the water up to their waists. They work in unbearable conditions, using toxic products containing heavy metals such as mercury, for miserable pay.
These mines, gigantic open-pit craters disfiguring the natural environment, are also home to all kinds of trafficking: drugs, prostitution, slavery, etc.
With this realization, I set out to reinvent our supply chain, but it soon became clear that the market was not yet ready for this revolution.
The quest for responsible suppliers and the desire to make jewelry creation more environmentally friendly have proven to be daunting challenges.
The outcome? To free myself as much as possible from all these constraints by creating my own brand... And so Rosa Maitea was born.
Rosa is my mother's first name, because it was at the moment when the idea of creating a sustainable jewelry brand was born in me that she left us, in January 2020. Maïtea means "the beloved" in Basque. Rosa Maïtea is named in honour of my mother and all mothers in the world.
Rosa Maïtea allowed me to be free and totally independent to lead this ambitious project: to transform jewelry practices, in order to positively influence a changing market. I made crucial decisions about the raw materials I was using, opting for recycled gold and diamonds, as well as 100% traceable gemstones. I also adapted my creations by imagining them from existing diamond cuts and shapes. Granted, this has led to higher costs and longer manufacturing times, but I won't go back.
By taking on these different challenges, Rosa Maitea is proud to contribute to the creation of a better world. Each of our eco-friendly jewels embodies our commitment to a preserved planet and sustainable working conditions. More than a brand, Rosa Maïtea is a vision and the promise of ethical beauty with a positive impact.
