Vegetable Ivory the new material in fine jewellery?

This week Opulent Ethics have been working with vegetable ivory (real name Tagua) for our new range which will be produced in early 2011. We bought the nuts in their rawest form from Ockenden Timber in Wales and have spent the time since experimenting with what the ivory can and cannot do.

Tagua nuts in their raw form

Tagua nut is taken from the Palm Nut Tree in the Amazonian rainforest. The nuts grow in clusters on the tree and once harvested they are dried for between 6 – 8 weeks. The trees are sustainably grown and reach maturity in between 3 – 8 years. Once the nuts drop to the floor they can be harvested. The drying process leaves an extremely strong nut which can be used with carving, turning, jewellery or figurine production. The material provides jobs for hundreds of farmers in and around the Amazon.

Projects have been established by numerous organisations in the region to bring the nuts to prominence as a way of protecting the already endangered rainforests. By using the nuts as a sustainable crop jobs and wealth are being brought to the area allowing infrastructure to be developed.

So how do you use it and what can be done with it? Emily Richardson is a jeweller who uses vegetable ivory in her 1920’s inspired pieces. She uses the ivory in its natural form and colour, shaping and polishing the nut into chunky shapes before combining it with 18ct gold. Other jewellers who use the material include LeJu Designs who produce colourful jewellery and beads.

So how will Opulent Ethics use it? This is what we are currently working on and we are designing around what we have discovered in our experiments. We know that the material can be carved into exquisite shapes with much detail due to the research we have been doing on Japanese Netsuke carving. Vegetable ivory has been used for many years in the wood turning industry and Opulent Ethics have managed to have some of our tagua turned into cabochon shaped pieces.

 Cabochon cut vegetable ivory

Using exciting laser technology we have been able to cut and engrave the ivory with beautifully accurate detail. Experiments using the laser cutter-marker machine at our disposal has shown us that the best results are on slices no thicker than 3.5mm for cutting and require the laser to pass over the piece numerous times in order to cut through the material. This may restrict our designs somewhat.

 Laser cut vegetable ivory slice

Engraving through the skin of the nut leaves a beautiful, clean line whereas engraving on the ivory coloured inner material leaves some discolouration on the flesh which requires cleaning up afterwards. The lines are neat but the need for cleaning afterwards means extra work which slows the process of assembling the jewellery pieces.      

Carving by hand is a little bit more difficult due to the hardness of the material but is a delight to work with. The material cleans up nicely and can be polished to a high sheen. There is also a lovely contrast between the dark brown of the skin and the pale, clean ivory of the inner.

Overall, Opulent Ethics is looking forward to creating some beautiful fine jewellery pieces using this new and exciting material. We are hoping to use Fair Trade gold and ethically sourced stones within our pieces so watch this space!

That’s all for now. See you in 2011!....