Royal Mint launches new collection made from recycled X-ray films
There are currently six pieces of jewellery made using X-Ray Silver within the 886 by The Royal Mint collection
The Royal Mint has partnered with Betts Metals, a 300-year-old family business, to use silver sourced entirely from medical x-ray films within its jewellery collection, 886 by The Royal Mint.
X-Ray Silver is an important step in reducing The Royal Mint’s reliance on mined materials and offers an “innovative” solution to a rapidly increasing demand for silver.
According to the Royal Mint, hospitals all over the country, and the world, are storing x-ray film well beyond its retention date, incurring associated storage costs.
This initiative allows them to recycle x-ray film and receive the monetary value of the silver that’s recovered.
The x-ray films are processed at Betts Metals at its established facility in the UK, before arriving at The Royal Mint, where expert craftspeople use their expertise to craft jewellery from the refined silver.
There are currently six pieces of jewellery made using X-Ray Silver within the 886 by The Royal Mint collection.
The Royal Mint is committed to working more sustainably and in late 2021 announced it had signed an agreement with Canadian clean tech start up, Excir to introduce a world first technology to the UK, which will enable it to safely retrieve and recycle gold from electronic waste.
In late 2023, this is being scaled up when The Royal Mint launches its multi-million-pound precious metals recovery plant.
The Royal Mint said that the use of X-Ray silver is another step in The Royal Mint’s journey “to becoming a leader in sustainable precious metals”.
Sean Millard, chief growth officer for The Royal Mint, said: “We are delighted to be working with our partner, Betts Metals on this innovative X-Ray Silver initiative, which offers The Royal Mint a new source of recovered and traceable sustainable metal. Representing the next milestone in our ambitions to set new standards in the reclamation of precious metals, it follows the introduction of e-waste gold last year.
“As part of The Royal Mint’s vision to transform for the future, our Precious Metals Recovery Business is committed to leading the development of pioneering solutions within the industry. For us, this means responsibly sourcing materials which have the potential to reuse our planet’s precious resources, whilst supporting a circular economy and enabling customers to access products that align with their values.”
Charlie Betts, managing director of The Betts Group, added: “With its rich history spanning 1,100 years, we’re excited to be working with The Royal Mint to bring silver sourced from x-ray film into its 886 by The Royal Mint collection.
