Meet The Fine-Jewelry Designers Who Are Making Each Jewel Count

When it comes to fine jewelry, Pippa Small is something of a poster girl for philanthropy. Small has worked for more than 20 years as an independent designer-maker, and is renowned for her organic aesthetic and vast repertoire of varied and unusual gemstones. Awarded an MBE in 2013 for her services to ethical-jewelry production and charity work, Small has also paved the way where sustainable luxury is concerned. One of the first jewelers to work with clean gold, she has tirelessly campaigned to reduce the industry’s impact on the environment and respect labor rights, most notably working with the Turquoise Mountain foundation to support local jewelry artisans around the world.

Providing training, education and employment for young craftspeople, the foundation also creates a market for their work, with proceeds supporting local schools that teach traditional handcrafts. “I believe that the art of jewelry-making can enhance life, create opportunities, protect precious traditions, grow the confidence of craftspeople around the world and reverse the tradition of exploitation associated with the gem industry over the centuries,” says Small. Projects working with the Kuna Indians of Panama, the Batwa of Rwanda, the San Bushmen of Botswana, slum dwellers in Kenya, Afghan artisans, and Aymara goldsmiths in Bolivia resulted in Small being honored in 2008 by the human-rights organization Survival International, for whom she now serves as an ambassador.

As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Jesse Marlo Lazowski, founder of the contemporary fine-jewelry brand Marlo Laz, is steadfast in her philanthropic convictions. “The leading principle in my family is to bring one’s humanity to the moment, which means standing up for what’s right and doing whatever is in our power to help,” she says. Explaining that her family history has deeply defined her path in life and shaped her character in many ways, Marlo Lazowski was inspired to make a difference and now sits on next-generation boards for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – two organizations dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, racism, discrimination and extremism worldwide.

Marlo Lazowski recalls attending the opening of the USHMM in 1993 with her father, when she was just three years old. Passionate about the museum’s work educating people about the atrocities of the Holocaust, and its efforts to prevent future genocide and hate, Marlo Lazowski joined the USHMM’s New York Next Generation Board and chaired its record-breaking fundraiser in 2019. In addition to serving on the ADL’s Next Generation Advisory Board, Marlo Lazowski has also completed the organization’s Glass Leadership Institute program, which tackles hatred and bigotry in the community by empowering young adults. “Knowing the horrors of the Holocaust and how lucky some of my family was to survive, I feel so deeply that no one should ever have to experience such atrocities, so have chosen to support institutions that work to fight against hate every single day.”