MYEL

In Montreal, a local jewelry store has set its sights on making beautiful things, and doing them better. Since 2013, MYEL has been attracting customers looking for the perfect blend of high-end jewelry, inspired design and ethical materials. Always looking for sustainable solutions to industry issues, the jeweler can now boast of being the first in Quebec to offer a collection designed exclusively with Fairmined certified gold.

1. How it all started

MYEL's beginnings are almost anecdotal. Myriam Élie, the founder of what was to become the high-end jewelry brand, was in Germany for a year when she noticed that her jewelry had been stolen at the airport. With a creative soul fuelled by her art studies, the expatriate found enough material in her new neighborhood to make her own collection. Nothing luxurious, but jewelry that looks like her.

Myriam Elie

"I was in the middle of a foreign country, surrounded by people I didn't share the same language with. As I was learning about making jewelry, a member of my entourage at the time, who was a dental prosthetist, noticed that we were using the same working tools. Gradually, my passion for jewelry began to grow."

Back in Montreal, Myriam Élie continued her apprenticeship with experienced craftsmen. The fascinating and mysterious world of jewelry opened up to her. MYEL was born. Today, the world of jewelry still holds many secrets for the designer. She promises to uncover them, one by one.

The name MYEL was born from the contraction of my first name and my name, but also from the evocation of honey, this liquid and precious gold.

more responsible, more transparent

2. Ethical material

When she began to question her suppliers about the origin of the precious metals and stones she used, the jewelry designer came up against an opaque chain. "It is extremely difficult to establish the traceability of raw materials in this industry," says Myriam Élie. But at MYEL, we wanted more transparency and we wanted to make sure that our sourcing was in line with our values.

Because the challenges are numerous when you start to dig into this issue: corruption linked to the extraction of precious minerals, armed conflicts, forced labour and child exploitation, deforestation, dumping of mercury and other pollutants, etc.

However, the jeweler admits that nothing is perfect. But MYEL is committed to transparent disclosure of where it stands on the ethical scale as it moves forward.

Certified Fairmined gold

The Montreal jeweler has joined the Community for Ethical Jewelry, an organisation dedicated to promoting responsible practices in the jewelry industry. Second-hand and laboratory-crafted diamonds have made their way into the collections. With a constant focus on reducing the environmental and social impact of its production, MYEL made the leap to Fairmined gold in 2021. Since then, a selection of our gold engagement rings carries this certification.

3. Multiple and shifting influences

Myriam Élie is eager to travel again. To meet the communities that extract the raw materials for MYEL jewelry, but also to find inspiration all around her. Because it is by rubbing shoulders with a host of worlds - fashion, music, the vibrant atmosphere of a foreign city, an exhibition, the contrasts of nature - that the designer creates the spark that guides her collections.

We aim to create pieces that are distinctive in design, but that stand the test of time and trends. Choosing quality, timeless jewelry is the most ecologically responsible thing we can do.

A FAMILY STORY

4.Two Sisters at the Helm

What began as a solo journey became a family story in 2022, when her sister Jeanne Elie, joined the company’s management. Together they opened their sister store, 207Ouest, located beneath the MYEL boutique.

GOING FURTHER

5. A Certified B Corp™ Company

Becoming a Certified B Corp™ marks an important milestone in MYEL’s journey. This international recognition highlights our commitment to meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

Through this process, we chose to take a close look at our practices — from company governance and working conditions to our relationship with the community and the impact of our activities on the planet.

Certification is not an end point, but a foundation that helps us keep moving forward. It encourages us to challenge the way we do things, measure our actions, and improve year after year toward a jewelry industry that is more just and more sustainable.