From Morocco with love …

A recent visit to Morocco brought these beautiful silver Berber pendants to my attention. I just had to purchase and incorporate them into my designs with semiprecious stones and silver beads.

These pendants originate from the amazing Berber culture. A very brief look into this ancient culture reveals that the Berbers formed, and still do, a major section of the population of several north African countries – Libya, Algeria and Morocco. Their oldest ancestors settled in East Egypt, which on the evidence of ancient paintings, seems to date back to sometime before 2400 BC.

The Berbers are believed to be North Africa’s original inhabitants, even before the Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans and Goths – indeed Greek, Roman and Phoenician texts have several references to the Berbers.

It is wonderfully amazing that, despite a history of conquests, the Berber culture was able to remain homogenized. The Arabs were the last of the great waves of invaders of the region and their influence remains to this day.

The Berber prefer silver jewelry to gold, this is not related to their financial status, rather to the teachings of the Muslim religion which became their faith. Silver jewelry was allowed for men, but not gold. Yet even though gold was allowed as an adornment for women, Berber jewelry is nonetheless almost entirely silver. It is enriched with niello-work (a very ancient technique of decorating silver, it is said that it has not been used in well over 100 years), enamel, engraving and repousse. Like most other cultures, they used semi-precious stones, the colors of which have symbolic, spiritual or protective properties.

In contrast to the significance of jewelry in the West, for both Arabs and Berbers, jewelry was not merely a means of decoration, rather a means of saving. Women would usually start to build their collection of jewelry since childhood. The collection would be greatly increased about the time of their marriage – after that every possible occasion, or any spare money the man has, would most likely be used to add to the current balance. Berber women, like most women I know (myself included) like to wear jewelry made for them personally. But because old pieces are not particularly prized, with every new generation, jewelry tends to go back to the smith to be melted down and reworked, thus very old pieces rare.

Jewelry given to a woman is hers absolutely, she may chose, for personal or circumstantial reasons, to sell an ornament or two to buy something else or to tide her family over a lean period.

This means the woman is the family banker - her statement of account hanging from her earlobes, around her neck, wrists and ankles. Looking at most societies both East and West, this remains true today everywhere!

Email me

Please email me for custom orders! For wedding and special occasions, I can create something special for you.

Use the online catalogue The Treasure Chest Collection as a source of inspiration for custom orders. Try combining your choice of choker/necklace from The Treasure Chest Collection with your choice of colors from the Theme Box, to order something truly unique, created especially for you.

Don't forget to have a look at Bracelets & Anklets, a collection of semiprecious and crystal bracelets and anklets.

Please place your order by sending me an email at fadwa-wm@fadwa.com (see Ordering information page for more details).

If you want to know more about me, or you need additional contact information, see the About Designer page.

Please remember

Each of jewelry in this gallery is handmade, and as such, may vary slightly from the pictures.

Quantities are very limited and subject to bead availability.

Enjoy! And thank you for visiting.

Fadwa