As re-wilding projects around the British countryside take force, restoring wooded habitats is integral to maintaining the ecological condition of the landscape and its wildlife. Of course, this feels a long way from the world of jewellery but the beautiful rich hues and patterned grain of wood to be found in jewellery celebrates this most precious sustainer of life, for as we know trees are the lungs of the planet.
Jewellery showcasing wood is a reminder that forests are disappearing and more must be done to ensure their protection. To be clear, the wood found in jewellery is sustainably sourced and of course used in very small quantities.
Fernando Jorge’s highly praised Deep Stream collection draws on the beauty of the Amazon forest using wood sinuously sculpted to flow like liquid across the body. He sources Red Louro wood that grows plentifully in his home country of Brazil and pairs his pieces with droplets of brown diamonds. The wood was supplied by an NGO working to foster sustainable use of the Amazon’s nature resources and some of the proceeds from this collection will go to support their work.
Red Louro wood earrings tipped with 18k gold and studded with diamonds by Fernando Jorge.
Brazilian jeweller Silvia Furmanovich similarly works in the region with artisans who look for raw materials like fallen tree branches or bark, which are either naturally coloured or stained with plant extract dyes and baked in the sunlight. These then are used to create the extraordinarily refined veneer marquetry in her jewellery coupled with gemstone accents.
Salvaged wood from the Amazon forest used in the century’s old technique of marquetry for a pair of bird earrings on an 18k gold branch and peridot by Silvia Furmanovich from Louisa Guinness Gallery.
While oak, sycamore and pine are familiar names, there are less familiar species like Mpingo, satinwood and pock wood being used for adornment. Kinraden in Denmark is sourcing Mpingo heartwood from an FSC certified forest in Tanzania. It is mostly upcycled from the production of wind instruments, cut and faceted like a precious gemstone, or used in contrasting bands with 18k gold or sterling silver for refined cuffs and rings. Equally dark is the ebony that French jeweller Marie Lichtenberg is using for her stylish pendants including a dragon design, while Californian jeweller Jacquie Aiche has given an airy lightness to rosewood earrings by carving out a feathery effect and setting it with rose gold and morganite.
Sustainably sourced mpingo wood, usually found in musicians’ wind instruments, can be faceted like a gemstone for a gold bangle and ring, or elegantly banding a gold bracelet and ring at Kinraden.
Hemmerle in Munich, experiments extensively with unusual materials, and has often included wood in its spare, modern designs using the grain and natural colour of the material to complement coloured gemstones. The sparkle of green tourmalines harmonizes with the naturally aged, green-coloured pock wood (Lignum Vitae, the national wood of the Bahamas) for a pair of earrings. An equally subtle and sophisticated partnership unites satin and olive wood flower-shaped earrings with red-brown zircons. They demonstrate how wood adds warmth and an organic feel to jewellery and, sourced ethically and sustainably, is a beautiful reminder of the preciousness of our trees.