Handmade vegetable ivory necklace by LeJu. Made from slices of an Amazonian palm tree seed and organically dyed. Each slice is carefully hand-tied with wax thread and fitted with a sliver clasp.
Colour, texture and distinctive beads come together to make this necklace something really special. Blues, greens, yellows and purples mean you can wear this necklace with virtually anything in your wardrobe. The scale is big and bold and makes the 'Mundo' necklace a wearable piece of unique art.
LeJu is proud to design and make jewellery using a very special seed known as Vegetable Ivory. The seed is obtained from a palm tree called Hyphaene Phytelephas found in the Amazonian rain forest.
It is the only 100% sustainable alternative for elephant ivory given that its colour and hardness are extremely similar to ivory. Therefore, its use stimulates the economies in South America, provides an alternative to cutting down rain forest for farming, and prevents elephants from being killed for their tusks.
Before it can be worked, the seeds must be allowed to dry naturally to gain the hardness required to be carved. Consequently, the older the seed the more valuable it becomes.
