Post-consumer recycled gold is gold that has already served its purpose – as a ring, a watch case, a dental crown or in an industrial process – and has come back from its end users. It is the only kind of recycled gold we sell, because it is clearly defined and rules out melted-down bars and factory scrap. Here is where our post-consumer recycled gold comes from, how it is refined and what you can honestly tell your customers about it.
Key insights
- "Post-consumer" means the gold has been used. It comes from products that reached their end users, such as worn jewelry, dental alloys and spent industrial residues. Factory scrap and melted-down bars and coins do not qualify.
- Our recycled gold is 100 % post-consumer. Our refining partner, the Betts Group, buys the material in the UK, documents its sources, refines it in separate batches and assays every lot to 999.9 ‰ fine gold.
- Claim the fine gold, not the whole piece. In our 585 and 750 alloys, only the fine gold is recycled: "The fine gold in this ring is 100 % post-consumer recycled gold."
- Recycled gold is not traceable to a mine. Nor does it reduce mining. To support mining communities, buyers of Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold pay certified small-scale mines a premium; Single Mine Origin Gold is traceable to one named mine.
What post-consumer recycled gold is
Post-consumer recycled gold is gold recovered from products that have reached their end users and can no longer be used as intended. The key term is end user: a person selling an inherited ring, a dental practice returning old crowns, a plating shop whose bath is spent. Gold that never left the factory does not qualify.
This matters, because "recycled gold" alone can mean almost anything, from melted-down bars to electronic waste. We explain the four types in what recycled gold is.
Three definitions, one idea
The three definitions most used in the jewelry trade agree on the core:
- RJC Chain of Custody Standard 2024: The Responsible Jewellery Council describes post-consumer material as gold "derived from post-consumer precious metal products, such as jewellery and ornaments sourced from individuals, organisations or industrial facilities."1 More in the RJC Chain-of-Custody Standard.
- ISO 14021: The international standard for self-declared environmental claims defines post-consumer material as material generated by households or by "commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product which can no longer be used for its intended purpose."2
- SCS-103: The Recycled Content Standard of SCS Standards, version 8.0 from 2024, uses the same definition as ISO 14021.3
All three keep post-consumer material apart from pre-consumer scrap from manufacturing. The RJC also excludes investment materials from all of its recycled categories, and SCS-103 excludes "investment bars, coins, and pre-consumer jewelry sourced from mined gold."13
No law defines recycled gold, and a dedicated ISO standard, ISO/DIS 21261-3 "Requirements for recycled gold," was dropped in 2025.4 The precise category name is your best protection.
Where our recycled gold comes from
All of our recycled gold comes from post-consumer sources bought in the UK. Our partner Stephen Betts & Sons, part of the Betts Group, buys and refines the material.5 Betts was founded in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter in 1760, calls itself the oldest surviving precious metal refining and dealing business in the UK and is run by the ninth generation of the family.6 The material falls into three groups.
End-of-life jewelry, watches and dental gold
The first group is what most people picture when they hear "old gold": worn or broken jewelry, watch cases and dental alloys. They come from private owners and from pawnbrokers.5 Every item has had a full life with an end user.
Repair offcuts and industrial residues
The second group comes from the workbench: offcuts, filings and sprues created when used jewelry is repaired, resized or reworked.5 This metal was already part of a product that reached its owner. That separates it from factory scrap, which comes from items "that have not entered the consumer market," in the words of the RJC.1
The third group is industrial residues from end-of-life processes: spent electroplating solutions, solder alloys, dust from ceramic decoration and sludge from photochemical processes.5 Companies used these materials until they could no longer serve their purpose. ISO 14021 therefore counts them as post-consumer: industrial facilities act "in their role as end-users."2 This is familiar ground for Betts, which has long recovered precious metals from "potteries, mirror manufacturers, photographic & plating industries."6
What never goes into the melt:5
- Pre-consumer material, such as casting scrap and offcuts from manufacturing.
- Investment products in circulation, such as bars and coins.
- Gold bars from mines and residues from mining.
- Old stocks held in the trade.
How every lot is refined and documented
Our recycled gold is refined in separate batches and assayed to 999.9 ‰ fine gold.57 Betts keeps it apart from other gold throughout refining, so it does not mix with mined gold, bullion or factory scrap.
The checks start before the melt. Betts inspects the incoming material, checks whether each source is plausible – whether what arrives matches what the seller says it is – and documents both.5
This documentation is the refiner's own. Our post-consumer recycled gold is not certified by a third party, and like all recycled gold, it cannot be traced back to a mine.5 That is why we call it documented post-consumer recycled gold – and name the category and the source groups, not a certificate.
Casting grain, alloys and price
We supply our post-consumer recycled gold as casting grain in 999.9 ‰ fine gold, or alloyed to 585 or 750.7 The grain comes in mixed sizes of about 0.2–4 millimeters.
| Fineness | Available as |
|---|---|
| 999.9 ‰ (24 karat) | Fine gold |
| 750 ‰ (18 karat) | Red, rose, rich yellow, light yellow and white gold |
| 585 ‰ (14 karat) | Red, rose, rich yellow and white gold |
Custom alloys are available from 100 grams.7
Only the fine gold is recycled. The alloying metals in our 585 and 750 grain are not recycled material.5 A wedding ring of 8 grams in 18-karat gold therefore contains 6 grams of post-consumer recycled fine gold and 2 grams of other metals. That shapes what you can claim.
The price is the current gold price plus a small premium, which covers production, logistics and the extra work of refining and handling the gold separately.7 Business customers see their prices after logging in to our shop.
What you can tell your customers
You can tell your customers exactly what the gold is: 100 % post-consumer recycled fine gold. That is a clear, specific claim, and it works best when it stays that way. If you sell to consumers in the EU, the Empowering Consumers Directive has applied since September 27, 2026. It names "made with recycled material" as an example of an environmental claim and bans claims that present one part of a product as the whole.8
Our product name, and therefore every invoice, designates the material as post-consumer recycled gold. Keep these invoices as your record.
Claims that hold up
- "The fine gold in this ring is 100 % post-consumer recycled gold."
- "The 6 grams of fine gold in this 18-karat ring are post-consumer recycled gold, refined from sources such as end-of-life jewelry, dental alloys and spent industrial residues."
- "All the fine gold in our [collection] is post-consumer recycled gold" – as long as that is true for every piece.
Claims to avoid
| Claim | Why it does not hold | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Sustainable gold," "eco-friendly gold" | A generic environmental claim, banned without an officially recognized eco-label – and none exists for gold | Name the category: post-consumer recycled fine gold |
| "Saves X kg of CO₂," "climate-friendly" | Recycling does not reduce mining, so the saving exists only on paper | Leave it out |
| "100 % recycled ring" | The alloying metals are not recycled | "The fine gold in this ring is …" |
| "Traceable," "known origin" | Nobody knows which mine the gold came from | "Post-consumer recycled gold" |
| "Certified recycled gold" | There is no third-party certification | "Documented post-consumer recycled gold" |
| "Old gold" as proof of age | Refined gold carries no date | See the next section |
| "No new mining for this ring" | Mining continues regardless | Leave it out |
"Old gold" is not proof of age
"Old gold" says nothing about when the gold was mined. The trade uses the term for jewelry sold as scrap, and often for recycled gold in general. But refined gold looks the same whether it was mined a century ago or last year.
Post-consumer proves a product life, not an age. Gold mined last year can end up in a ring that is worn for a few months and then sold back. Some sellers even call pre-consumer scrap or melted-down bars "old gold." How much of the gold sold as recycled has actually been used, we explore in is recycled gold really recycled?
So we do not sell our gold as "old gold." The category tells you what the gold is; "old" suggests something nobody can prove.
What post-consumer recycled gold cannot do
Post-consumer recycled gold does not reduce gold mining. In 2025, mines produced 3,671.6 tonnes of gold, while recycling supplied 1,404.3 tonnes, about 28 % of total supply.910 Recycling grew by only 3 %, although the average gold price rose by 44 % – "a surprise," according to the World Gold Council.9 Gold has always been recycled, because nobody throws it away. Choosing recycled gold does not bring more of it back into use, and demand for mined gold stays where it was.
Three other things stay the same:
- The mine stays unknown. Nobody can say under what conditions recycled gold was once extracted. What real traceability requires: traceable gold.
- Nothing changes in mining regions. Recycled gold does not affect pay, safety or mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining or in large mines.
- The carbon footprint of mining stays. Low footprint figures for recycled gold leave out the mining that produced it. More in our look at whether recycled gold is sustainable.
None of this makes post-consumer recycled gold a bad choice: it is clearly defined, keeps relabeled bullion and factory scrap out and costs little more than the gold price. It is just not a solution for mining.
When another sourcing model fits better
If you want your gold to make a difference where it is mined, choose gold from a known mine. Each of our other sourcing models does something recycled gold cannot:
- Fairtrade Gold and Fairmined Gold come from certified artisanal and small-scale mines. Buyers pay the mine at least 95 % of the LBMA gold price plus a premium: 2,000 US dollars per kilogram for Fairtrade, 4,000 US dollars for Fairmined.1112 We pay 96–99 %.5 More in what is Fairtrade Gold? and what is Fairmined Gold?
- Fairmined Ecological Gold is processed without mercury or cyanide, using only gravity-based methods.12 Details in what is Fairmined Ecological Gold?
- Single Mine Origin Gold comes from large-scale mines that share independently audited ESG data every year. Each batch is traceable to one named mine, and SMO Gold is available in larger volumes at competitive prices.135 See what is Single Mine Origin Gold?
If you stay with recycled gold, you can still pay a premium to certified small-scale mines. Fairmined Credits are available separately: one credit per gram of fine gold, with 4 US dollars of its price going to the mine as Fairmined Premium.14 All options side by side: our sourcing models at a glance.
FAQs: Post-consumer recycled gold, explained
What is post-consumer recycled gold?
Gold recovered from products that have reached their end users and can no longer be used as intended, such as end-of-life jewelry, dental alloys and spent industrial residues. The RJC Chain of Custody Standard 2024, ISO 14021 and SCS-103 all define it along these lines.
What is the difference between pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled gold?
Pre-consumer gold comes from manufacturing – casting scrap, filings and offcuts – and has never reached a customer. Post-consumer gold comes from products that end users have actually used.
Is post-consumer recycled gold traceable?
No. Its source category is known, but not the mine where it was once extracted. Only gold such as Fairtrade, Fairmined and Single Mine Origin Gold is traceable to the mine.
Is "old gold" the same as post-consumer recycled gold?
Not necessarily. "Old gold" is a trade term without a fixed definition and is also used for pre-consumer scrap or melted-down bars. It says nothing about when the gold was mined.
Is Fairever's recycled gold certified?
No. The Betts Group refines it in separate batches, inspects the material and documents where it comes from. There is no third-party certification for it.
Can I call jewelry made with post-consumer recycled gold sustainable?
You should not. Since September 27, 2026, EU rules ban generic claims such as "sustainable" for products sold to consumers unless an officially recognized eco-label backs them, and none exists for gold. Say instead: "The fine gold in this piece is 100 % post-consumer recycled gold."
Key takeaways
In a nutshell ...
- Post-consumer is the recycled category that means "used." It rules out relabeled bars and factory scrap.
- Every lot is documented by our refiner. Betts buys the material in the UK, inspects it and assays it to 999.9 ‰ – there is no third-party certificate.
- Say exactly what it is. "The fine gold in this ring is 100 % post-consumer recycled gold" holds up; "sustainable," "traceable" and "old gold" do not.
- For impact in mining regions, choose gold from a named mine. Fairtrade, Fairmined and Single Mine Origin Gold name the mine; Fairmined Credits pay certified mines a premium even if you stay with recycled gold.
Get active, be the change!
If you work with recycled gold, make it post-consumer – and describe it precisely. Browse our post-consumer recycled gold casting grain, in fine gold or in 585 and 750 alloys.
Further reading
- The four kinds of recycled gold and how to tell them apart: What is recycled gold?
- Why the small carbon footprint of recycled gold mostly exists on paper: Is recycled gold sustainable?
- Gold traceable to one named large-scale mine: What is Single Mine Origin Gold?
Sources
- Responsible Jewellery Council, Chain of Custody Standard, December 2024, provision 6, p. 10. ↩ ↩ ↩
- International Organization for Standardization, ISO 14021: Environmental labels and declarations – Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling), clause 7.8.1.1, quoted from the national adoption IS/ISO 14021:1999. ↩ ↩
- SCS Standards, SCS-103 Certification Standard for Recycled Content.pdf?VersionId=ciQSntbQBTaK9519auN.Q4vRSA1isW57), version 8.0, May 2024, section 5, pp. 5–6. ↩ ↩
- Standardization Institute of the Republic of North Macedonia, ISO/DIS 21261-3: Jewellery and precious metals – Responsible precious metals – Part 3: Requirements for recycled gold, project record (status "project deleted," April 25, 2025), accessed September 2026. ↩
- Fairever, internal information, September 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Betts Group, History, accessed September 2026. ↩ ↩
- Fairever, Post-Consumer Recycled Gold Grain – 999.9 ‰ – 24 kt, product page, accessed September 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- European Parliament and Council, Directive (EU) 2024/825 as regards empowering consumers for the green transition, February 28, 2024, recitals 9 and 11, Articles 1 and 4, Annex (points 4a and 4b). ↩
- World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends Full Year 2025: Supply, 2026. ↩ ↩
- Our own calculation: 1,404.3 tonnes of recycled gold ÷ 5,002.3 tonnes of total supply (footnote 9) × 100 ≈ 28 %. ↩
- Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Associated Precious Metals for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, version 1.2, November 2013 (in force until June 30, 2027), requirements 4.5.1 and 4.5.3. ↩
- Alliance for Responsible Mining, Fairmined Standard for Gold from Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, including Associated Precious Metals, version 2.0, April 5, 2014, requirements 2.3.1, 5.2.1 and 5.2.5. ↩ ↩
- Single Mine Origin, SMO Gold Introduction Brochure, 2026 (not publicly available). ↩
- Fairever, Fairmined Impact Credits – Book & Claim Model, product page, accessed September 2026. ↩
