Ella founded Monarc Jewellery in 2017. Prior to that, she worked for an international jewellery production house, managing their European accounts. It gave her a lot of insights into the industry – including how it could operate better. “I was getting real hands-on experience … sitting with [jewellery] accounts and thinking, ‘I like the way you do that and I don’t like the way you do this’. I thought I could definitely tread lighter and kinder and change aspects of production and procurement to support the environment and people,” Ella says.  

Unlike many other jewellery brands, Ella undertakes extensive research to find the right materials, including using recycled and certified precious metals and above ground diamonds and gemstones. This eliminates the need to mine for resources and encourages a circular approach to jewellery production.   

“A part of my thinking [around getting B Corp certified] was, ‘if I’m doing all these things [for the planet] already, why not gain some accreditation for that?’ … The space is becoming increasingly confusing and crowded regarding sustainable brands, so we really wanted some certification to back up what we’re doing.” Monarc ended up scoring an impressive 103 on their impact assessment from B Lab, which is on the higher end of the scale.  

While Monarc has been crowned the first jewellery brand in New Zealand to achieve B Corp certification, Ella doesn’t want the brand to stand alone for long. “We encourage other brands, be it in jewellery, fashion or the food and beverage industry, to take a look at themselves. If they’re doing things really well, why not also strive for that certification” Ella says.  Monarc is still striving towards new goals too. Every three years businesses need to prepare for recertification using the B Impact Assessment for continuous improvement. “[The B Lab portal] gives us some direction and inspiration for what else we’d like to do in the year ahead. It’s a guiding tool we can refer back to and say, ‘hey, let’s tackle this now’” she says.

Ultimately, Ella says this certification should “help people feel even better about what they’ve bought”. And once you realise what that unassuming capital B stands for, it really does.