The Royal Mint, the UK's official coinmaker, is producing jewelry made with silver extracted from used hospital X-ray films. Pictured, one of its cuffs, engraved with a poem.
The Royal Mint, the UK's official coinmaker, is producing jewelry made with silver extracted from used hospital X-ray films. Pictured, one of its cuffs, engraved with a poem.
The Royal Mint
The silver is recovered from the X-ray films by Betts Metals — a company that has refined precious metals from waste for more than 250 years.
The silver is recovered from the X-ray films by Betts Metals — a company that has refined precious metals from waste for more than 250 years.
Betts Metals
The X-ray film is shredded before the silver is extracted, smelted, and refined to 99.9% purity.
The X-ray film is shredded before the silver is extracted, smelted, and refined to 99.9% purity.
Betts Metals
The recovered silver is used in The Royal Mint's 886 collection to create necklaces, cuffs and other jewelry.
The recovered silver is used in The Royal Mint's 886 collection to create necklaces, cuffs and other jewelry.
886 by The Royal Mint
The recovered silver is identical to mined silver, according to Dominic Jones, creative director at 886.
The recovered silver is identical to mined silver, according to Dominic Jones, creative director at 886.
886 by The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint's 886 line also features jewelry made from other sustainably sourced precious metals, such as gold extracted from electronic waste.
The Royal Mint's 886 line also features jewelry made from other sustainably sourced precious metals, such as gold extracted from electronic waste.
The Royal Mint
To recover the gold, The Royal Mint uses what it describes as "world-first" chemistry from Canadian company Excir, which it says is able to recover more than 99% of precious metals from electronic waste within minutes.
To recover the gold, The Royal Mint uses what it describes as "world-first" chemistry from Canadian company Excir, which it says is able to recover more than 99% of precious metals from electronic waste within minutes.
The Royal Mint