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!....

Celebrity jewellery designers…the good and the bad!

There are many celebrities who have turned their hand to jewellery design with varying degrees of success. Lily Allen says that her range of colourful animals, coins and traffic signals stem from items she has seen on her travels and from her passion for Chanel and fine clothing. The fact that her range is on sale in Argos doesn’t seem to fit in with the style she tries to convey.

 Lily Allen's jewellery range 

There are other celebrities though whose jewellery is aimed more towards the fine end of the jewellery market. Angelina Jolie recently revealed her second jewellery collection, this time collaborating with Robert Procop Exceptional Jewels. So what is special about this range? And what makes it stand apart from the ten-a-penny Lily Allen ranges of the world?

Angelina Jolie and Robert Procop

Well first of all, Angelina’s range will not be sold in stores, but through Robert Procop’s contacts. The cost of the pieces is also being kept quiet, suggesting that their price tag will be eye-wateringly high. Quotes suggest that some of the materials being used include emeralds and rose gold and the design of the pieces is based on ancient engravings.

Like Jolie’s first range of jewellery, this range will donate profits to the charity that she co-founded in 2006, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict. In Angelina’s words;

"Every child has a right to an education. And conflict is not an excuse for us to ignore that right. If anything, it is the time that they need it the most."

The charity currently helps over 350,000 children whose education has been affected by war or natural disaster but it is Jolie’s determination to reach more of those in need which has led her to raise money through her jewellery ranges.

Angelina Jolie’s first range was produced in collaboration with Asprey and was based around serpent motifs. This came around after Jolie was given a piece of snake jewellery when she was pregnant with her first child in Africa. The beliefs of the culture that she lived in towards the end of her pregnancy in Namibia believe that the snake is a symbol of protection for both mother and child.

The Protector Collection, which Brad Pitt also worked on, contains, not just jewellery, but also baby products such as silver spoons and egg cups. Whilst we at Opulent Ethics are not massive fans of the range we think that the work being achieved because of it is amazing.

The Protector Collection

So are there any celebrities out there who are designing jewellery that the masses can afford but that is still raising profits or the profile of much deserving charities?

Laura Bailey recently produced a range in collaboration with Made. Not only is Laura Bailey an active campaigner for ethical and fair-trade fashion but she is also an ambassador for the children's charity Barnardos, a supporter of the Hoping Foundation, Comic Relief and Film Club. Her designs for made are based on Africa and its communities and cultures. They are sold through Made and promoted by model Bailey herself.

Laura Bailey for Made

Other such celebrity designers include Peaches Geldof whose successful first collection for Made has led to her currently working on her second with all pieces being made from ethically sourced materials but designed to complement current trends and styles. And, it's not just jewellery; Emma Watson’s turn at designing clothes for People Tree have also got to be commended for their beauty and ethical credibility.

So whilst some parts of the celebrity culture and celebrity designers go against what Opulent Ethics stand for, there are definitely celebrities out there with intentions and ethics that we admire.

That’s all for now….

Have yourself a Merry Ethical Christmas!

A partridge in a pear tree...these cards are printed on paper from sustainable forests by Campaign to Protect Rural England, and come in a pack of 8.

2 turtle doves...this dove brooch is made from sterling silver by Tearcraft.

3 French hens...also by Tearcraft these chicken egg cosies are made from cotton with appliquéd wings.

4 calling birds...this owl from Ethical Superstore is one of a range of endangered species which have to be put together by you from the FSC certified wooden pieces.

5 gold rings…there are many more than 5 gold rings we could mention but Cred’s Hibiscus Filigree ring is one of our current favorites.

6 geese a laying…these Divine chocolate mini eggs are made from Fair Trade ingredients.

7 swans a swimming…using this book, available from Ethical Superstore, you will be able to swim, canoe and boat around the most beautiful parts of the UK.

8 maids a milking…milk, honey, aloe and sunflower oil combine in this luxurious recipe of Burt’s Bees body lotion.

9 ladies dancing…People Tree have an amazing range of beautiful and stylish ladies clothing perfect for going out dancing.

10 Lords a leaping…this Lord MO t-shirt is one of many from SP:UK. This particular one is made from Fair Trade cotton.

11 pipers piping…this colourful necklace, sold through Ethical Superstore is made from Fair Trade resin and brass pipes.

12 drummers drumming…this Djembe drum is hand-made from Fair Trade goatskin for Natural Flow Direct.com

That's all for now....



All you need to know about Oro Verde....

From this (Oro Verde panned gold)...

...to this (Stacey Whale's Oro Verde cuff)

You may have noticed that Oro Verde gold is becoming more prominent in the media recently and that the name Oro Verde is becoming synonymous with feel-good green jewellery. Because of this we thought it was about time we learnt more about all things Oro Verde.

Oro Verde gold and platinum come from the Choco Bioregion which is a 87,803 hectare piece of land that spans Panama, Columbia and Ecuador. The region has a very high rainfall making it one of the most lush climates in the world and the perfect home for the 9000 species of plants, 200 types of mammal, 600 species of bird, 100 different reptiles and 120 amphibians.

Alongside all this diverse flora and fauna live a human population of approximately 3,720,000 made up of multiple multi-ethic and indigenous communities. It is these communities which own the land that the gold and platinum is found on, who mine it and who hunt, fish and farm the land. It is estimated that between 80-85% of the families in some parts of the region are artisanal miners.

So what is artisanal mining and why is it done here and not in other metal-rich places?

The Choco Bioregion is rich in natural sources of platinum and gold. The high rainfall in the area helps wash the gold and platinum from the Andes down into lower lying lands which are inhabited by the Choco peoples. It is this movement of materials via natural water sources that allows miners to find metals in the streams and rivers when panning for or alluvially mining metals.

The region is renowned for its high metal content and has already been damaged by mining pollution and the run-off of harmful chemicals from metal treatment plants. This has been going on for hundreds of years already. So why is this changing now?

The scheme being run in the region; the Green Gold Programme, is fair, sustainable and protects the existing communities rather than the outsider who has come just for the metals. The land which makes up the Choco Bioregion is owned and run by the families and communities who have owned it for generations. This is recognised through a legally binding land title.

The Choco Bioregion came to be in 1999 through an alliance between local mining families who used traditional artisanal techniques, local community leaders who were looking to protect the local communities and those who wished to stop the humanitarian and environmental impact of mining which was being seen elsewhere in the area.

It was decided that the best way forward was to generate a sustainable income through programmes which were self-managed by those who lived there. This was also true of the development which comes with a sustainable income. The region also wanted to protect the amazing eco-systems which are found no-where else in the world.

Oro Verde and the Green Gold Programme support the entire supply chain from miner through to helping develop world markets where the product can be sold. This is an on-going project and is why we are seeing more and more about the programme over time. The thing that is so special about this project though is the way that knowledge is used. Best practice and useful knowledge is disseminated to other communities and things are implemented which will help a specific area. For example, land which is no longer used for mining is replanted using crops which are endemic to the region to ensure that the rainforests survive and continue to flourish but the land is also used to bolster that sustainable income by using crops which will continue to bring in profit. Everything that the programme does complies with environmental and social criteria.

And what of the actual metals? There is a premium of 10 or 15% on the metals dependant on whether they are Fair Trade or Fair Mined. This is certified through a system which started in 2004 when the Oro Verde project began working with the Association for Responsible Mining (ARM). Other partners of the scheme include Tiffany’s, Oxfam and the Fairtrade Foundation. The premium is used to invest in the development of the land and it is the families and communities which decide how this can best be done.

So how can we help? Because of the technique used, artisanal mining could never support our industry's current demand for metals but smaller companies who are committed to the work of this type of programme should definitely look to begin using Oro Verde gold and platinum. We here at Opulent Ethics hope to soon.

For a brilliant film which follows the Mosquera family whilst they mine in the Choco Bioregion where they live click here. 

That’s all for now….