AURATE

Beautiful gold jewelry pieces for women, designed and crafted in NYC.

About AURATE

AURATE is golden in our eyes. They make high-quality jewelry with strict ethical manufacturing standards. So you can look good and feel good when wearing these gorgeous pieces.

Why We Love Them

All that glitters is not gold in the jewelry industry. The conditions for some of the mining of diamonds and other precious gems are abysmal, gold harvesting is detrimental to the environment, and on top of it all much of the marketed “24 karat” gold is nowhere near that standard. AURATE saw these problems and realized that they could all be solved with just a bit of ingenuity and hard work. They offer beautiful, real, ethically sourced jewelry all made from recycled gold and in the US. AURATE is the new gold standard, a true diamond in the rough.

Origin Story

While having brunch one weekend, Sophie Kahn realized that her so-called pure gold ring was leaving her finger stained green. She complained to her longtime friend Bouchra Ezzahraoui, and the two decided to combine their experience in fashion and finance to form AURATE. The two knew that they couldn’t simply start another jewelry business with the same status quo practices. Blood diamonds, sweatshops, environmental harm- these things are the antithesis of Kahn and Ezzahraoui’s business philosophy. As it turns out, it is more than possible to make a successful jewelry business with none of these practices. AURATE has become the only direct-to-consumer fine jewelry company with a successful omnichannel presence in the US.

Use 100% recycled gold to make incredible jewelry
Strict standards to ensure the ethical sourcing of their precious gems
Every piece of jewelry is designed and made in the USA
Donate one book to schools in need for each piece of gold purchased
Every piece of jewelry is guaranteed for life

The Science & The Soul

The Science

AURATE uses 100% recycled gold, in order to avoid the devastating impact of gold mining. Master craftspeople in New York take the ethically sourced gold and jewels and use Sophie Kahn’s designs to create the incredible jewelry of AURATE. Kahn claims that she uses everyday images, from the movement of the city to the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge, as design inspiration. Every gold piece is made from either 14 or 18 karats, and 14 karat gold vermeil. Instead of the industry standard of coating the vermeil with 1.5 microns of 10 karat gold, AURATE uses 2.5 microns of 14 karats. Additionally, every diamond is lab tested to ensure its clarity, cut, and color.

The Soul

It is seemingly unthinkable that the blood diamond industry is still profitable, and yet. Precious gems around the world are harvested at the cost of human lives, all for a cheaper source. AURATE refuses to entertain the idea that they could profit off of the misery of others. Instead, they track every stone from mine to their doorstep, and demand that their mines offer fair wages, decent working conditions, and respect local communities. As mentioned, all of the gold AURATE uses is recycled, a crucial point for many native peoples where gold is harvested. Gold mining can be devastating, not only for the environment but for these communities, and AURATE has set a new gold standard.