Jewellery and luxury watches share something with the products we most often analyse at Democratic Market: behind each piece there is a supply chain involving minerals extracted somewhere in the world. And that place either has democracy or it does not.
In this article we trace the three fundamental raw materials — diamonds, gold and precious metals — and analyse the countries of origin and the brands that offer the greatest democratic traceability. At the end we review watches, where the contrast between Switzerland (EIU 9.14) and Chinese replicas (EIU 2.12) is probably the sharpest of all sectors we analyse.
Diamonds: origin matters more than size
Rough diamonds are extracted mainly in Botswana (EIU 7.81, flawed democracy), Russia (EIU 2.22, authoritarian), Congo (EIU 1.76, authoritarian), Angola (EIU 1.99, authoritarian) and South Africa (EIU 7.05, flawed democracy). The democratic map of diamond extraction is highly polarised: you have the reasonably democratic countries of southern Africa and then Russia and central-west Africa.
EIU 2025 — Main diamond producers: Botswana 7.81 ✓ · South Africa 7.05 ✓ · Namibia 6.58 ✓ · Zimbabwe 2.49 ✗ · Angola 1.99 ✗ · Congo (DRC) 1.76 ✗ · Russia 2.22 ✗. The upper half of the market has a possible democratic origin; the lower half does not.
Botswana is the paradigmatic case: the Debswana company is a 50/50 joint venture between the Botswana government and De Beers. This makes Botswana one of the few African countries where mining revenues flow directly to the state within a functioning democracy. Botswana diamonds are the closest to a democratically-sourced diamond on today's market.
Russia supplied up to 30% of the world's rough diamonds until 2022, mainly through Alrosa, a company controlled by the Russian state. EU and US sanctions (2022) have sharply reduced the flow of Russian diamonds to the West, but transit circuits through India or Dubai still exist. A Kimberley Process-certified diamond can technically include Russian material if it passed through a third country.
Lab-grown diamonds: the strongest democratic argument
Lab-grown diamonds (CVD or HPHT) are manufactured mainly in the United States (EIU 7.85), China (EIU 2.12) and India (EIU 7.18). The two main industrial-scale producers of lab-grown diamonds are China and India — the former problematic from a democratic perspective, the latter with an acceptable EIU of 7.18.
US brands specialising in lab-grown diamonds — such as Brilliant Earth (San Francisco) or Lightbox Jewelry (a De Beers subsidiary) — offer diamonds manufactured with verifiable origins in the US or in high-EIU countries. Brilliant Earth publishes the country of origin for each stone and its verification process. It is the option with the best democratic traceability available today in the mainstream fine jewellery market.
Gold: the Fairmined seal as benchmark
The world's five largest gold producers are China (EIU 2.12), Russia (EIU 2.22), Australia (EIU 8.96), Canada (EIU 8.71) and the US (EIU 7.85). The first two are authoritarian; the other three are full democracies.
But industrial gold extraction is not the only market. Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) accounts for 20% of world gold production and employs around 15 million people in countries such as Colombia (EIU 7.23), Peru (EIU 5.90), Ghana (EIU 6.43) and others. The problem with artisanal mining is not the democratic origin of the country but the working conditions inside the mine.
Fairmined is the benchmark certification for artisanal gold: it verifies fair wages, working conditions, no child labour and environmental management. Fairmined-certified organisations are mainly in Colombia (7.23), Peru (5.90) and Bolivia (5.02). Colombia has the largest number of Fairmined-certified mines in the world.
The French brand Chopard (part of the Karl Lagerfeld Group, operated from Geneva, Switzerland EIU 9.14) was the first major luxury jeweller to adopt Fairmined gold across all its production, from 2013. Today 100% of the gold used in its jewellery is Fairmined or certified recycled. It is the sector benchmark for supply chain transparency of raw materials.
Platinum: the Zimbabwe problem
Platinum is extracted mainly in South Africa (EIU 7.05, 70% of world production) and Zimbabwe (EIU 2.49, approximately 10%). South Africa exceeds the threshold; Zimbabwe does not. Palladium and rhodium, platinum group metals used in some contemporary jewellery finishes, follow the same geographical pattern.
For platinum jewellery, South African origin is documented by most precious metals suppliers across Europe. But as with all precious metals, traceability of the 'kilogram in the ingot' is simpler than the 'gram in the bracelet'. Chain-of-custody certifications such as RJC (Responsible Jewellery Council) verify the process rather than the specific geographic origin.
Swiss watches: the sector with the best democratic profile by default
Switzerland has the highest EIU score of any country in the world in 2025: 9.14. And Switzerland is also the country where the most valued watches on the market are made: Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, IWC, Breitling, Jaeger-LeCoultre, TAG Heuer and virtually the entire Swatch Group range.
A Swiss watch carrying the 'Swiss Made' mark (which legally requires that at least 60% of production value be Swiss, including the movement) has by default the best possible democratic profile in manufacturing. The skilled labour is in Geneva, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen or the Vallée de Joux, all in democratic Switzerland.
Nomos Glashütte (Germany, EIU 8.58) manufactures 95% of its components in Glashütte, Saxony. It is the only mid-to-high range watch on the market that can claim such complete national origin outside Switzerland. Seiko (Japan, EIU 8.40) and Grand Seiko manufacture their high-end movements in Japan. All three countries — Switzerland, Germany, Japan — are full democracies with EIU ≥ 8.0.
The contrast with replicas and low-cost Chinese watches is absolute: China (EIU 2.12) is the world's largest watch manufacturer by volume. A watch with a Chinese ETA-equivalent movement assembled in Shenzhen has the opposite democratic profile to a Swiss watch. The price difference between the two reflects, among other things, the difference in working conditions and political governance of the country of manufacture.
What to look for when buying jewellery or a watch
For jewellery with stones: ask about the origin of the diamond or gem. GIA or IGI certificates sometimes include the country of origin. For gold: look for the Fairmined seal or the 'Fairtrade Gold' mark. For watches: the Swiss Made mark or explicitly declared German or Japanese origin are solid indicators. Replicas and watches with no declared provenance do not pass the basic democratic analysis.
Democratic Market will index, in the coming months, watches made in Switzerland, Germany and Japan, and jewellery with Fairmined certification or with lab-grown diamonds of documented origin in countries with EIU ≥ 6.0. Luxury can have a democratic origin. In some sectors, such as Swiss watches, it already does almost by default.
This article was originally published at Democratic Market. Read the full version with additional analysis on our site.
