The final for my human geography class this semester was a paper that traced a product of choice through its different stages of manufacturing and selling. Pearl earrings from Kay Jewelers, a seemingly simple good, were the product that I chose. When I started to research for the paper I was so surprised how many places and people in the world had a hand in the making of the earrings. The Pearls were cultured in Japan, China, and Australia, the gold was made in Africa, South America, and the US, and the headquarters of the parent company was based in
London, England. All six populated continents had some influence on the making of this small luxury.
Also in my research I came across many references to “dirty gold.” This meant that much of the world’s gold was being mined in poverty stricken areas and the mining was negatively affecting the people that lived on those lands.
Globalization was the main theme of my paper as well as most everyone’s in my class. Below is the paper that I wrote for the class:
Pearl earrings are considered a beautiful accessory that creates a simple and elegant look for any woman of any nationality. Once very rare, pearls can now be found in many parts of the world naturally as well as artificially. The gold used in the backings can be found all on six populated continents. However, it takes a company to put all the resources found across the globe together to create this product. Kay Jewelers, a division of Sterling Jewelers Inc, produces quality jewelry through international resources that includes pearl earrings (“About Kay Jewelers”).Globalization has aided Kay Jewelers to become the “largest specialty retail jeweler in the world” (“About Kay Jewelers”). The process of gathering the components, putting the earrings together, marketing the product, and the earrings finally being consumed uses the expertise of people around the world in such a manner in that has a distinct international flavor.
Although Kay Jewelers started as a family business in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1916 by two brothers, Sol and Edmund Kaufmann, it grew into a large corporation based in
Akron, Ohio (“Kay History”). Signet Group plc whose headquarters are in
London, England, is the parent company of Kay Jewelers (“About Kay Jewelers”). Since Signet Group plc is so large and has so much influence in the jewelry industry, it has many different suppliers of materials, especially gold. The most merchandise that any one supplier provided for Signet Group plc was ten percent during the 2005/2006 fiscal year (“Risk and Other Factors”). Mostly, Signet Group acquires their gold through the use of options, forwarding contracts, and commodity purchasing (“Risk and Other Factors”). However, due to the power and prestige of the corporation, there is no way of knowing exactly where all of the materials originate.
The gold that is used in Kay Jewelers’ jewelry could possibly come from any continent, excluding
Antarctica. Although, the country that supplies the highest percentage of gold is
South Africa which produces twelve percent of the world’s gold (“Mine Production”). Followed closely behind South Africa is the US and
Australia who individually produce ten percent of the gold in the world (“Mine Production”).
Mining gold and refining it are a lengthy process. Once gold ore is found in an area, a huge pit is drilled and samples of the ore are collected and categorized into high grade and low grade ores (“How Gold is Produced”). The low grade ore is diluted in a cyanide solution while the high grade ore is treated in a recovery circuit and then leached in cyanide as well (“How Gold is Produced”). To get the gold from the solution, it is absorbed by carbon and placed in a container filled with other chemicals that separate the gold from the carbon and then precipitates through electrolysis (“How Gold is Produced”). Finally, the almost pure gold is melted into bars and sent to a refinery where any impurity is chemically forced out of the gold (“How Gold is Produced”). Although this process is used everywhere in the world, it contains many ingredients that can harm the environment such as the waste produced through the cyanide solution and the carbon solution.
Even though many of the countries that mine gold follow regulations, gold is mined in many places that are remote and have few regulations. This causes an avalanche of environmental and humanitarian concerns. Poisoned waters, solid waste, polluted air, and threatened natural areas are all environmental concerns that are dealt with when mining gold (“Dirty Gold’s Impacts”). These environmental concerns have a large impact on the communities around the gold mines. Many mines are located in territories formerly occupied by indigenous people and by having a mine, there is a loss of the traditional way of life (“Endangered Communities”). The town is flooded with the influx of people looking for jobs in the mines and the indigenous culture suffers (“Endangered Communities”). In addition, the profession of mining is one of the most dangerous in the world and oftentimes the workers have few, if any, rights (“Dirty Gold’s Impacts”).
Even though there are many places with unethical gold mining practices, there are places that follow national and international regulations. Signet Group plc is a founding member of a group called the Council for Responsible Jewelry Practices which works to “[promote] responsible business practices in a transparent and accountable manner throughout the industry from mine to retail” (“Risk and Other Factors”). Thus, it appears that Signet Group, and therefore Kay Jewelers, receives its gold from credible sources that do not harm people or the environment.
Not only are there concerns about the environmental impacts of gold mining, but there is worry over the production of pearls as well. Nowadays, it is very hard to find oysters in natural environments that produce pearls because the nesting beds are being ravished by people who need the oysters to artificially cultivate pearls and fragile oceanic ecosystems are being interrupted (“Pearls and Trade”). Even though most countries have laws regarding the removal of wildlife from their natural habitats, it is hard for countries to enforce the rules because oysters are found in water territories (“Pearls and Trade”). Once the oysters are removed and used for pearl cultivation, however, other elements of the environment affect their health. Since water characteristics are changing due to rising sea temperatures and nutrients in the ocean are becoming more scare, traditionally high producers of pearls such as Japan and Australia are producing less and less (“Pearls and Trade”).
Even though
Japan’s cultured pearl production is decreasing, they still manage to produce about eighty percent of the world’s marketable pearls (“Pearls and Trade”).
Japan is probably the forerunner in the cultured pearl business because Kokichi Mikimoto, a Japanese man, figured out the process of culturing in 1893 (“Pearls and Trade”). By inserting a small piece of a mother-of-pearl shell found in freshwater mussels as well as a minute piece of mantle tissue inside the pearl oyster’s gonad, the oyster will secrete nacre (the material the makes up a pearl) (McLaurin).
The seas around Japan, as well as the waters off the coast of the third country in which the most pearls are produced,
China, are where the pearls used by Kay Jewelers originate (“Cultured Pearls”). Mostly, freshwater pearls are produced from China and saltwater pearls, also known as akoya pearls, are produced by Japan (“
Pearl”). When receiving pearls, Kay Jewelers only accepts the top ten percent of the harvested cultured peals based on nacre, color, shape, and surface perfection (“Cultured Pearls”).
Once the highest quality gold and peals are produced, the products need to be assembled. However, due to the complex supply chains that Signet Group uses, it is impossible to trace where the products are manufactured (“Suppliers”). Another reason why the processed materials are so hard to trace is because Signet Group trades through commodity exchanges and through multiple brokers and traders (“Suppliers”). Also, the merchandise is purchased by Signet group from many different suppliers it is oftentimes cheaper to buy the finished product then resort to direct sourcing (“Operations”).
After the pearl earrings are in finished product form, they need to be marketed in order to be sold. The main way of selling this product, as is the same for any other product, is to increase name recognition for the company (“US Marketing and Advertising”). Kay Jewelers, with it catchy phrase “every kiss begins with Kay,” advertises through all types of mediums such as “television, radio, print, catalogues, direct mail, telephone marketing, customer relationship marketing, point of sale signage, in-store displays and the internet” (“US Marketing and Advertising”). These channels of advertising are used at seasonal times when people are more likely to purchase jewelry for themselves or as gifts (“US Marketing and Advertising”). Also, people of high socioeconomic status are usually targeted as customers. The location of the stores, mostly in suburban malls, is a factor that contributes to marketing to the sector of society that is most likely to purchase pearl earrings (“US Real Estate”).
From the gold mines in Africa and the seas of
Japan to the store at the local mall, the journey of pearl earrings is one that encompasses the whole world. Many people play both small roles such as the gold miner and big roles such as the corporate executive in order to deliver a quality product to the average person. However, the hands that toil in the mines, the seas, at the desks, and in the stores are hands of people of many different nationalities. It is astounding how many lives such a small and simple, yet beautiful, product can affect.
Works Cited
“About Kay Jewelers.” Kay Jewelers. 2006. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.kay.com/lwp/wcm/connect/Kay/Customer+Service/About+Kay+Jewelers/>.
“Cultured Pearls.” Kay Jewelers. 2006. 2 Oct. 2006. <http://www.kay.com/lwp/wcm/connect/Kay/Education+Center/Cultured+Pearls+Guide/Cultured+Pearls+Detail/>.
“Dirty Gold’s Impacts.” Earthworks. 2004. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.nodirtygold.org/dirty_golds_impacts.cfm>.
“Endangered Communities.” Earthworks. 2004. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.nodirtygold.org/endangered_communities.cfm>.
“How Gold is Produced.” 2006. National Mining Association. 3 Nov. 2006 <http://www.nma.org/technology/gold_production.asp>.
“Kay History.” Kay Jewelers. 2006. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.kay.com/lwp/wcm/connect/Kay/Customer+Service/About+Kay+Jewelers/Kay+History/>.
McLaurin, Douglas. “How Pearls are Formed: the Pearl Sac Theory.”
Perlas Del Mar De Cortez. Feb. 2005. 2 Nov. 2006 <http://www.perlas.com.mx/english/pearlsac.html>
“Mine Production.” World Gold Council. 13 Apr. 2006. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.gold.org/value/markets/supply_demand/mine_production.html>.
“Operations.” Signet Group. 2006. 2 Oct. 2006. <http://www.signetgroupplc.com/pages/300/Operations.stm>
“Pearl.” Wikipedia. 6 Nov. 2006. 6 Nov. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearls>.
“Pearls and Trade.”
American
University. 6 Nov. 2006 <http://www.american.edu/ted/pearl.htm#r2>.
“Risk and Other Factors.” Signet Group Plc. 2006. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.signetgroupplc.com/pages/176/Risk+%26+Other+Factors.stm>.
“Suppliers.” Signet Group. 2006. 6 Nov. 2006 <http://www.signetgroupplc.com/pages/252/Suppliers.stm>.
“US Marketing and Advertising.” Signet Group. 2006. 6 Nov. 2006 <http://www.signetgroupplc.com/pages/199/US+Marketing+%26+Advertising.stm>.
“US Real Estate.” Signet Group Plc. 2006. 4 Dec. 2006 <http://www.signetgroupplc.com/pages/197/US+Real+Estate.stm>.
