Swiss Better Gold links Swiss buyers to artisanal and small-scale mines through an escalator model with 27 sourcing criteria and a premium of USD 1.35 per gram whose split is published. Member-led since July 2025, it reported 5,335 kg exported in 2025 (per SBG, unaudited).
Visit swissbettergoldassociation.chSwiss Better Gold began in 2013 as the Swiss Better Gold Initiative, a public-private partnership with Switzerland’s SECO. Mines enter an escalator: they are assessed against 27 sourcing criteria and progress through steps. On the association’s 2025 count, 27 mines were accredited at Steps 2 and 3 and 11 were in Step 1 (per SBG, unaudited).
Buyers pay a premium of USD 1.35 per gram on top of the gold price, with a published split: USD 0.70 to on-the-ground projects, USD 0.50 to technical assistance and USD 0.15 to SBG costs (Impact Report 2025, p.57, published 21 April 2026). USD 1 per gram is the historical SECO-era structure, still often quoted.
Since 1 July 2025 the association is member-led: the SECO public-private phase ended, succeeded by a separate SECO ASGM programme for 2025-2029 (CHF 5.87M). Its 30 members include Cartier, Chopard, Chanel, Tiffany, UBS, Argor-Heraeus, Metalor and MKS PAMP.
The Swiss Better Gold Initiative is founded as a public-private partnership with SECO, focused on Latin American ASM gold.
Valcambi is suspended in January (no active accredited chain) and resigns in May. On 23 June, an MoU with the Bank of Mongolia and Argor-Heraeus opens the first expansion beyond Latin America, with 5 pilot operations. On 1 July the association becomes member-led as the SECO phase ends. In September a processing-plant sourcing model launches in Peru.
The Impact Report 2025 is published on 21 April: 5,335 kg exported, 27 Step 2/3 mines, 11 in Step 1, 10 mines suspended in 2025 (per SBG, unaudited).
All figures are self-reported in the SBG Impact Report 2025 (published 21 April 2026) and unaudited. Per this hub’s policy they are attributed inline and kept out of headline statistics.
The 2025 record shows a scheme applying its criteria against its own chain: 10 mines suspended in 2025 (per SBG, unaudited), and Valcambi, described in press as the world’s largest refiner by capacity, suspended in January 2025 for having no active accredited chain, then resigned in May 2025.
The Mongolia MoU of 23 June 2025 (Bank of Mongolia, Argor-Heraeus, 5 pilot operations) is the first expansion beyond Latin America. One practical note: the association’s live domain is swissbettergoldassociation.ch; the older swissbettergold.ch address is dead.
Member-led since 1 July 2025. The association reports 30 members; those named on this hub’s record:
Membership as compiled at the July 2026 crawl; join-years are not on the public record gathered here. Valcambi was suspended in January 2025 and resigned in May 2025.
Swiss Better Gold is one of the standards and programmes tracked, source-rated and dated on the Gold Hub. Browse the register, or tell us what is missing.