About

Hillary West Bio Photo

Hillary West Jewelry was born in 2016 as an evolution from a time in 2012 in which a broken girl started taking broken things and fashioned them into something new. My work as an artist has taken me from cold fusion wire jewelry to lapidary, goldsmithing and a new endeavor into fine art jewelry. This work is what saves my life every day, and is everything I want to say when I'm afraid to speak. My largest hope is that what I create here gives the people who wear it as much individual expression, love, and courage as I get from making it.

ETHICS

Jewelry, just as most daily activities and function in a modern society, is an industry that has unavoidable conflicts in environmental and human ethics. I do my best to use every avenue out there and available to me in my work that ensures I am creating art which contributes to a better industry standard. Zero impact in jewelry, however, is impossible. Jewelry requires mining of the land, trusting other businesses on their stone sourcing, energy use, and chemicals that require safe handling and specific proper disposal. I invite you to look into how other things we use in our daily lives are made, and how those processes impact our world.

All diamonds used in HW collections are either conflict-free (according to the Kimberley Process), lab grown, or reclaimed, and all metals are recycled. The mines, wholesalers, and vendors I use are top tier in ethics and sourcing standards and the chemicals and products I use in my studio are natural when possible in order to protect my own health and the environment. It's all up to us to take care of our planet and our fellow human. Do your research, do your part, question everything.