Today, sustainability initiatives within companies and organizations are gaining increasing importance. I look up “What is sustainability?” on my smartphone.  The answer I get is that it means “sustainable,” referring to “the environmental, social, and economic aspects continuing into the future.

Today, I’d like to briefly write about how some of OKURADO’s daily activities connect to “sustainability.

One characteristic of jewelry is that its “beauty” and ‘value’ endure over time. The “sparkle” of colored stones, including diamonds, isn’t fleeting.  If treated with care, they can continue to shine for decades and remain wearable as jewelry.

Jewelry passed down through generations is by no means uncommon. Jewelry is one of the few things that retains its “beauty” even as it is passed down through generations, and its “preciousness” only increases with the passage of time.

The artisans at OKURADO craft jewelry with the intention that it will be cherished for decades. They consider strength and stone setting techniques to ensure longevity. Each component is meticulously crafted and finished with the expectation that it will be passed down through generations. While this isn’t explicitly instructed, they simply believe “this is what jewelry should be” and work accordingly.

Our founding dates back to 1969.  On rare occasions, jewelry crafted in our workshop decades ago returns for maintenance. Long-time staff members feel a sense of nostalgia as they inspect and refinish these pieces, making them look as good as new.

The jewelry we craft for our customers today must also be maintainable decades from now, requiring skilled artisans to service it.　

At OKURADO, we place great importance on internal technical succession to ensure our artisans’ skills are passed on to future generations. We value the systems we have established to transmit these techniques to the next generation. Currently, our OKURADO workshop employs artisans ranging in age from their 70s to their 20s. While preserving traditional techniques, they simultaneously share and utilize the latest digital production technologies among themselves in their craft.

We believe this technical succession is integral to our jewelry creating enduring value for our customers.

If we define “sustainable” as “creating enduring value,” then the very principles we at OKURADO have carried in our DNA since our founding—crafting jewelry meant to be cherished for generations and passing on techniques to future generations—resonate deeply with this concept of sustainability.

Of course, it goes without saying that we must continue our efforts, taking our time and moving steadily forward, to create things that generate even more enduring value.

Hitoshi Okura

OKURADO

▼Our actions for sustainability

OKURADO’s Approach to Ethical and SDGs