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Organic Jewelry
Part 2- Bamboo -Horn and Bone
jewelry
By: Sheweta Dhanuka
Human being came into existence
in this universe millions of years
ago and so is his/her passion for
ornaments. Initially, the objects
utilized by them for making
jewelries were all the natural
material that required intense
search in forest instead of mining.
They used to look for horns, bones
and teeth of animals, bamboo and
wood for making jewels. Today
precious and semi precious gemstones
are widespread in every corner of
the world but the stuff used by our
ancestors for jewelry also exists.
These are named as Organic Jewelry.
It is new contemporary funky items
created using intrinsic stuff like
bamboo, hardwood, horn & bone and
tusk.
Jewelry lovers could add these
unique pieces in their collection.
Organic jewelry is the amazing blend
of old and new phase that is
instinctive raw material used for
crafting stunning jewels using
modern techniques and designs. Thus,
this article endeavors to provide
the related information about the
natural material used for making
organic ornaments such as necklace,
bracelets and earrings. The details
proffered are the basic facts that
would help in understanding and
knowing these natural materials to
some extent.
Bamboo Jewelry
It is the natural grass
that grows in long cylinder shape
thick from outer circumference while
hollow inside. The colour of this
innate material varies from light
green, yellow or brown. It could be
either striped or spotted black in
colour. Black bamboo is very rare
but valued most. It is tan yellowish
and the colour varies from medium
brown to chocolate brown. The
natural designs and patterns on the
solid part differ from one piece to
other like it could be burnt design,
one-flare colour or tapering effect.
The bamboo jewelries are always
created using cylinder shapes. It
has natural protective cortex that
is the outer surface of bamboo
therefore, while making other flat
shapes the protective shield needs
to be detached. Once the cortex is
removed this natural material
becomes unsuitable for jewelry, as
it gets permeable and less firm.
The circular shapes are cut in form
of rings from the diaphragm or
membrane of the cylindrical bamboo.
The rings are thick in the front
while hollow at the back. No two
rings have identical look therefore,
it is very difficult to match for
making jewelry pieces in pairs.
In order to have the smooth
insertion of jewelry made up bamboo,
it is pre-oiled when it is in its
raw form. It should be always oiled
else it becomes difficult to retain
the shine and wear it. The jewelries
must be seldom washed. Only mild
herbal soaps or solutions must be
used for cleaning. Immediately,
after washing it should be wiped off
completely with the cotton cloth and
oiled before storing it.
The cost of this basic material is
determined by its diameter. It is
measured in gauges, inches or
millimeters. With the increase in
the diameter in terms of gauge the
price also increases. The length of
the bamboo pieces used to make
captivating jewelries is usually
short, something between 1/2 to 3/4
inches long.
Hardwood Jewelry
High quality hardwood is
used to make fascinating jewelries.
It is all handmade jewelry as it
involves manual carving and sanding.
It is ideal for making earrings, as
mostly ear gets less wet when
compared with wrist, fingers and
neck.
The different varieties of wood used
for making exquisite ornaments are
Chechen, Ebony, Chakte Kok,
Granadillo, Katalox, Olive and
Maple. All comes in varied colours.
Olive and maple are found in bright
yellow colour base with dark yellow
or brown natural groves on the base.
Ebony is dense black in colour.
Reddish orange with black or dark
brown streaks is the colour for
Chakte Kok. Chechen and granadillo
are medium brown and dark brown
colour respectively, both consists
of darker shades grains on the base
colour. Katalox is very dark brown
colour that looks like ebony black.
In order to make attention-grabbing
jewels diverse shapes are cut from
thick wood logs. Pieces have to be
cut from thick logs because small
pieces with less thickness tend to
break in due coarse of time. These
shapes are joined together to make
appealing jewelry items. Only few
regular shapes such as cylinder,
round, oval, square, one flared,
saddle, nail, taper and spike are
possible to cut, as wood is
relatively stiff. However, many
versatile designs are created with
inlay. Inlay means that a solid
piece is drilled to make it hollow
then some other gemstone or small
wood bit is inserted in the empty
space. In the center of the saddle
piece, 3-D concentric circles are
made highlighting it outwards. The
solid piece is even engraved with
some designs like stars, sun, flower
and so on. Sometimes, even these are
carved in inimitable forms and hand
painted in colourful colours. The
options for creating exclusive
pieces in unlimited, it all just
depends on the creativity of an
individual.
Price of these amazing natural
material is determined through three
main factors viz. wood used, artwork
and size. All the different types of
wood mentioned above come at a
different price. Similarly, all
diverse artwork calls for a special
cost. Inlay tends to be most
expensive as it involves the cost of
solid wood piece as well as the
gemstone/wood plug inserted inside
the main solid. Rest all varies with
the quality and quantity of the work
done on the wooden piece that is
used for making jewelries. Finally
the size of the wood, with the
increase in the size cost also goes
up.
All hardwood jewelry in the end is
oiled utterly as it fills the empty
pores and leads to smooth insertion.
These ornaments similar to bamboo
jewelries must be washed
occasionally with mild soap and
water, completely dried and oiled
again before storing. Olive oil,
peanut oil or jojoba oil could be
used to do the needful.
Horn Jewelry and Bone Jewelry
 In ancient times,
when civilization started people
used to wear jewelries made up from
horns and bones of the animals. In
those times, jewelries were common
to males, females and even children.
They used to collect the bones, make
similar shapes and put it together
in a string to make necklace,
bracelets and so forth. Ear and nose
piercing with sharp animal horn was
also proverbial amongst the females.
The horn and bone body jewelry
continues to be worn by tribes in
few parts of the universe till date.
Today, these unique ornaments are
not only restricted to tribal group
but has become the trendy funky
style statement in the fashion
industry across the globe.
Horns are always found in dark
colours like dark brown, black or
gray. These are sharp, translucent
and could be yellowish or brownish
tan. It is made up fibrous protein
called as Keratin. Due to keratin,
the horns are very hard and taut. As
all animals have two horns
therefore, for making any jewelry
item the pair of identical horns is
easily acquired. Bones are composed
of calcium carbonate and protein
collagen. As calcium is present in
large quantity, bones are white or
off white in colour.
There are different varieties of
horns found like double flared,
saddle shaped, plain hollow and
hollow with amber inserted ( any
other gemstone could be inserted in
place of amber like turquoise,
bloodstone, opal, moonstone etc ).
Fancy and remarkable designs could
be engraved on the horns in double
flared or saddle shape. Also, bone
dust and semi precious gems are also
used creatively in unlimited
designs. These are referred as
saddles or double flared with
inlays. Inlays signify to bone dust
or the stones. U shape, hair-do's,
yoni shape, spiral, compact spiral,
triskels, wicked spiral, java style
hoops, plain claws, monster claws,
labret shapes, tusks, septum
pinchers and flying dragons etc are
unique mesmerizing shapes. These are
never seen before shapes in any
other gemstone or jewelry material.
 Same as horns, bones are shaped as
saddle, solid or hollow. The diverse
designs as created in horn are not
possible to produce in bones, as it
is more porous. It becomes more
porous due to the presence of
calcium carbonate in its
composition. Round, square, teeth,
tusks, claws and more are the
regularly found shapes.
These two jewelry raw materials are
mostly obtained from water buffalo
and cows. Indonesia is the main
source for both these animal. India
is the main supplier of black cow
horns. The horns and bones are
attained only after animals die. It
is valued very high thus cost is
lucrative. The main price
determinants are size and country.
Indonesian water buffalo horns and
bones are priced maximum.
Tusk Jewelry
Tusk are long pointed tooth
that protrudes from closed mouth as
in elephant, warthog or wild boar.
Each single unit obtained from
different animals is exceptional and
has its distinctive specialty. Boar
tusk are short, white and sharp
curved. Warthog tusks are same as
the former but are more heavy and
tan yellowish. The last but most
important are the elephant tusk.
These are valued maximum and the
cost is as high as sky. These are
ivory white, strong and very large.
Unfortunately, people with their
selfish motive kill innocent animals
for its God gifted tusk. It is
against the ethical standards to
make jewelries using tusk and wear
the same. This convention is now
obscured with other old traditions.
Therefore, only small piece of
information is offered about tusk.
Apart from tusk other organic stuffs
viz. bamboo, hardwood, horn and bone
continues to be used for creating
spectacular body jewelry. This funky
fashion is idyllic for casual
attire. In spite for being so old it
persists to have the clout to grab
the attention in the mass. It is
certainly worth to keep up the old
things. So try getting organic !!
More Resources
Horn and Bone Jewelry store
Bamboo jewelry
Related Links :
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Belly Button Piercing
The Egyptians, the Indians and many other cultures pierced this humble button to show the significance of the person sporting a pierced navel - Royalty, Warriors, exceptional Beauty. |
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