Large earrings with vegetable ivory, terracotta bead dipped in silver. Silver hooks. Approx. 9 cm long.
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.
