Greg Valerio MBE

Through Valerio Jewellery, I aim to show that grandeur for the rich doesn’t have to mean grit for the poor. Everyone should have a share of the beauty and bounty.

Maverick, pain in the arse, social entrepreneur, out of the box, radical, passionate, emotional, idiot, unmanageable, direct, to the point, breath of fresh air, rebel, visionary, scruffy, non-conformist, looks like a bum, economic terrorist, heretic and dangerous bastard have all been used to describe Greg and his commitment to human rights, ecological responsibility, fair trade & ecologically just practices in marginalised and forgotten communities.

My Story

Standing in a Rajastani garnet mine in India I called the ‘Gateway to Dante’s Inferno’ convinced me that I had to be not only a budding retail jeweller – but also a campaigner on behalf of those who were being exploited at the source.

​The destinations I visited were often like apocalyptic scenes – Sierra Leone diamond mines, Congolese gold mines and Indian gemstone mines where adults and children worked knee-high in mud, exploited by local and international traders, the modern day slavery of extreme proportions. All this compelled me to confront and create a better option for the jewellery world. I have consistently challenged the industry giants and power brokers – with passion and fire – to pursue human rights and environmental justice throughout the jewellery value chain.

​Life wasn’t always that way, of course. I was expelled from school. I spent my teenage years in the theatre and on the streets of London during the 80’s. These experiences opened my eyes to the plight of the poor.

​I have worked with iconic campaigners and fashionista like Bob Geldof, Katharine Hamnett, Anita Roddick and Harriet Lamb. I was the first international jeweller to visit Oro Verdé, Colombia, where I befriended eco-friendly gold miners.

​Monitoring supply routes of raw materials, I  became determined to make transparency and traceability the jewellery professions mantra. ‘Jewellers often ignore the stories of their sources.'  ‘This is an industry that continues to run scared of the truth, yet it has the wealth and power to put it right.’. In 2004 CRED Jewellery launched the first ethical jewellery website selling ‘green’ wedding rings. Seven years later, I became The Observer Ethical Awards Global Campaigner 2011 for my work in advocating for Fairtrade Gold. Was voted by The Retail Jeweller as one of the top 100 innovators. In 2016 I was awarded a MBE for services to Fairtrade and working for the rights of artisanal miners and their communities.

​Respected as a social entrepreneur in jewellery, I believes the dreamscape, hopes and aspiration of communities cannot be built on the desolation of the destitute, economic injustice, the chaos of conflict and the ecological abuse of the planet.