Inspirational jewellery from Central America and Asia

This week I thought it would be fun to share some of my favourite pieces of jewellery that I've collected whilst travelling overseas. I bought most of these things before I started making jewellery myself, and they definitely inspired me, as well as being perfect keepsakes from my trips.

The first pieces come from Cuba, the first country I went to on a Central American trip way back in 2013. I bought a lot of pieces from different markets, and these pieces I've chosen are quite reflective of the kind of things saw there, mainly using natural materials like wood, and coral, as well as colourful enamelling.

Cuban jewellery

I absolutely love this massive ring. I am not sure exactly what the beautiful, warm peach stone is, but I love the colour and markings. I'm also a big fan of a massive statement ring! This one is simple enough to wear with everything.

The metal is 'alpaca silver' , it's called different things in different countries (including nickel silver and german silver) and is commonly used in central American countries to make jewellery. It is actually not made of silver at all, but a mix of copper, nickel and zinc alloys, in varying percentages. It doesn't have any intrinsic value, but is a really great replacement to sterling silver as it polishes up to a beautiful shine, and is far less expensive. Whilst it can tarnish, I've actually found a lot of the pieces stay brighter than my silver jewellery!

 If you are buying jewellery from a market, the chances are you are never going to know exactly what it's made of, and people will often tell you what you want to hear. But for me that's totally fine, I buy these things for the beautiful designs and workmanship, and the value is emotional not a monetary investment. Also it's not necessarily a wise idea to wear valuable jewellery when you are travelling!

The bracelet is a combination of mother of pearl and some kind of enamelling, which I again saw in a lot of Cuban jewellery. The shape of it is as beautiful and eye-catching to me now as when I first bought it. I wore both these pieces for weeks while I was travelling in Cuba, along with earrings I bought also with polished stone in.

Pearl earrings from Guatemala

The second selection of jewellery comes from Guatemala. There are many fantastic handcraft items you can buy from the makers at markets, and often watch them at work. These pairs of earrings both came from the highland town of Xela (Quetzaltenango), where I volunteered in a women's weaving cooperative for a couple of weeks. They both came from a man who used to make jewellery in the central square, and I absolutely loved his work, the intricate wire designs combined with different colours and shapes of stones. I think I came back home with at least a dozen pairs! I love the elegant design of the natural pearl ones, and the beautiful blue heart shaped stone of the others. I'm not sure what stone it is, but possibly blue jade, as jade is frequently used in Guatemala.

Jade has been used in jewellery in Guatemala since pre-hispanic times and carved into jewellery, figurines and other works of art, owned by priests ad royalty. The jade found in Guatemala is of the rarer 'Jadeite' variety, and comes in a wide variety of colours including colourless, white, all shades of green, yellow-green, yellowish brown, brown, red, orange, violet (mauve), blue (rare), gray, black and purple.

Blue heart earrings from Guatemala

The most expensive piece I bought was this ring which came from a shop on the Island of Flores in northern Guatemala. I believe this is made of silver, and the stone is Jade. It's a really classic teardrop shape that you can wear facing up or down, and the design will always look good no matter what time passes.

Green Jadeite ring from Guatemala

The last two pieces are rings that came from all the way round the other side of the world in Sumatra. Sumatra is Indonesia's largest island, and the only place other than Borneo where you can see Orang-utans, which is why I ended up there! The men were wearing huge amounts of jewellery while I was there, especially multiple really large gemstone rings. I bought both these rings from market stalls in different places. The shape of them is very much that which was commonly  being worn.

Idocrase ring from Sumatra

 I love the intricate carving on the sides of the first ring. The metal again will be some mix of alloys, but it has always had a slightly golden tone which I love. The stone may be idocrase or possibly chalcedony. I  just love the subtle grey and peachy tones, and the cloudy inclusions throughout. I loved wearing this ring, for me that stone is full of dreams.

Agate ring from Sumatra

The other ring has a more modern, masculine  vibe, with a really beautiful stone, which I think may be agate with a beautiful array of red and range tones. This ring definitely means business! It may not be perfectly made, but it perfectly captures that moment in time, in that place, where I will probably never be again.

Gemstones found  in Indonesia include, pearls,  fossil coral, fossil wood, agate, amber, chalcedony, jasper, idocrase, obsidian and quartz amongst others. Indonesia again has a long history of gemstone use dating back to around 3500BC.

Since I've been making jewellery I actually wear less of it, as rings especially don't really lend themselves to working with your hands, and I started wearing things I have made myself. But I keep all these pieces and treasure them, looking through them now bringing back all the memories of those countries I visited. I think I will started wearing them again, and let them inspire me to create some new designs whilst dreaming of those faraway places.

I hope you've enjoyed this article, that has turned into a love letter to those creators across the globe who make beautiful things with their hands, and the connections we make and take home when we are lucky enough to visit these places.

Love,

Tori x

Natural or lab grown gemstones?

Ethical concerns about product supply chain and a move towards sustainable sourcing in the fashion and lifestyle industries are also present in the jewellery world. Lab grown gemstones (often diamonds),  often referred to as ethical stones, are becoming more popular.

You may have come across different terms when reading about gemstone or gemstone jewellery, such as natural gemstones, synthetic gemstones, costume jewellery or lab grown gemstones. In this article I am going to take a look at where natural gemstones come from, the difference between natural and lab-grown, and the ethical implications of both.

Natural purple amethyst

So where do natural gemstones come from?  Like silver and gold, they are formed beneath the earth and need to be mined to remove them. Gemstones form in the earth's crust when molten magma cools, crystallises and forms minerals. The three different types of rock contain different gemstones. Igneous rock, also formed by magma, can form the quartzes including amethyst and citrine, garnets, moonstone, tanzanite, tourmaline, and topaz. Sedimentary rock, formed by the rock being worn down and compressed over many years, can contain jasper, malachite, opal and zircon.  Metamorphic rock, formed by intense pressure or heat underground, can form emeralds, aquamarine, jade, lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphires and turquoise. Diamonds form in 'Kimberlite pipes' which originate deep in the earth's mantle and end at the surface.

Diamonds are mined industrially by large companies using heavy machinery from pit mines. Coloured gemstones are generally left to smaller, independent miners using old manual techniques, as the deposits are few generally with small quantities scattered throughout large areas of rock.

Lab created gemstones, or synthetic gemstones, are created in labs by various techniques, sometimes using the same ingredients and reproducing natural processes as in natural stones. They can be chemically and optically identical to their natural counterparts, and is this case are just as real as stones grown under the earth. They can have the same inclusions and flaws as natural gemstones, and can be very difficult to tell apart even by an expert. Lab grown stones can therefore be real, but not natural, stones. These processes have been around since the early 1900s! Synthetic gemstones which look natural but are not chemically identical, having no natural counterpart, are known as simulated gemstones -the kind of thing you find in costume jewellery, and couldn't be described as real gemstones.

So which is better?  Lab grown stones are just as strong and hard as their natural counterparts. They may be cheaper, but may not hold their value as well, for instance if you get a lab grown diamond ring. They have the same brilliance, sparkle and shine as natural stones. 

Are lab grown stones more ethical? There seems to be conflict over this. In many ways they seem to be - not having to mine them out of the earth's crusts does seem to be a good thing! Natural gemstones are of course a limited resource like gold and silver, and their mining comes with similar environmental issues such as deforestation in mines and pollution, which are not a problem in lab grown stones. There are no human rights issues with lab grown stones either, which historically has been a great problem in the diamond mining industry in Africa. As well as unethical working practices, 'blood diamonds' were being sold to fund military conflict in war zones. The industry has been doing a lot to rectify this in the past two decades, with a certification scheme for diamonds which means that unethical trading has hopefully been stamped out. 

Lab grown stones do still have an environmental footprint due to the carbon used in their production, but renewable energy sources mean that overall it should still be more environmentally friendly than a mined stone when the whole of the production process of mining is taken into account. Whilst being grown in labs mitigates any human impact in the countries they are traditionally mined from, it also means that no local jobs are provided, and people have limited opportunities for work in many of these countries. Many African countries have a wealth of gemstones including tanzanite in Tanzania, rubies Mozambique, emeralds in Zambia, and Sapphires in Madagascar, as well as diamonds in Botswana and South Africa. Lapis Lazuli is mined in Afghanistan amongst other gemstones, and Jade in Myanmar. Australia is known for opal, and Canada and the USA mine gemstones as well as precious metal.

 It does seem sensible to me to move away from anything that involves mining a finite resource, but I also understand that many communities where mining takes place have little or no other options to earn money, and that just removing the industry, whilst negating any of the local problems it creates, doesn't help to support the local people in finding a sustainable way to earn a living from their land. Perhaps making sure that conditions are fair and ethical in these mines is of greater help in these countries. Whilst I currently use natural gemstones in my work, from various sources, lab grown stones are certainly something I am interested in finding out more about and would consider using in future.

 I hope you found this interesting, if you would like to read more there are some links for further reading online below. 

Tori x

The Guardian article looking at the ethical implications of lab grown and natural gemstone production

www.diamonds.pro discussing the ppros and cons of both types of diamonds

www.gemsociety.org looking at the differences between natural and lab grown gemstones

www.thermofisher.com talking about the mining of gemstones

Recycled silver and gold - the future of jewellery?

Most of us love wearing our gold and silver jewellery, and they are beautiful materials to wear and work with. Mining for these precious materials has been taking place since ancient times, as early as 5th century BC.

9ct gold conch earring

But as we humans become increasingly aware of the effect we are having on the planet, we turn our attention to trying to make more sustainable and eco-friendly choices, and demand more transparency in supply chain so we know exactly where our purchases and the materials used to make them have come from.

You may have started to wonder, where do gold and silver come from, and are they environmentally friendly?  In terms of jewellery buying, one of the simplest and most effective things to look out for is jewellery made from recycled gold and silver.

Gold and silver are both naturally occurring materials that must be found in the earth and removed, usually by mining. The main gold producing countries are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Russia; similarly in recent centuries the principal countries silver is produced in are Canada, Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Poland, Australia and the USA.

As they grow so slowly in the earth, these veins have become depleted by us so there is now an ever growing search for new gold to mine. There are also various environmental and human rights issues surrounding these mines.

Photo by Matthew de Livera, Australian mine

The processes used to remove to ore often use large amounts of other metals, and the air as well as ground water can become easily contaminated. Drinking water around mines has been found to have high concentrations of metals including arsenic, iron, and lead. Mercury poisoning can be fatal and has serious side effects.

Lack of rules and regulations in many of the countries gold is found mean that child exploitation is common, and a lack of basic health and safety can create very dangerous conditions for the local workers. Destruction of natural habits with great biodiversity is common where precious metals are found and mined.

The great news is, if we choose to recycle silver and gold to reuse it, we no longer need to extract fresh deposits from the earth. Gold can be recycled multiple times without losing its integrity, and the end products have exactly the same purity and usability as the first time around. So choosing to buy jewellery made of recycled silver and gold is an easy way to make sure your shopping is eco-friendly and sustainable.

I use both recycled silver and gold in my work, although you will not know it to see it! It is fully auditable and traceable as a guarantee of its provenance. It is produced from 100% recycled scrap metal, made up of scrap jewellery and recycled elements from the giftware, electronics and medical industries. It is exactly the same in constitution as regular sterling silver or 9ct, 14ct or 18ct gold, it is purely more environmentally friendly.

I hope you found this interesting or useful!

Tori x

If you're interested in reading more about gold production or recycled silver and gold, you can check out these links for further information.

Earthworks.org for info on gold mining

Gold.org for some positive impact mining case studies

Cooksongold.com for info on recycled gold

Wikipedia.org for info on the history of silver mining