Thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in the film of the same name, we all know the phrase ‘blood diamonds’ (referring to diamonds that have been mined in a war zone, or sold to fund conflict). But what about ‘dirty gold’?
Ask a jeweller where their gold comes from, and most are unlikely to give you any solid answer. Some might say ‘recycled’, which means pretty much nothing. Gold is rarely thrown away due to its value, so it has always been ‘recycled’, and recycled gold means lots of different gold being thrown into one big provenance-erasing melting pot (sometimes with intent by those who wish to purposely hide its origin).
