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How Tagua Jewelry is Made
WHAT IS TAGUA (pronounced TAG-WAH)? The
Tagua nut grows from a palm tree found mainly in
the Ecuadorian rainforests. It is also known as vegetable
ivory. It takes the fruit 12-18 months to dry in
order for it to become the hardened, natural nut that
we use in our jewelry.
HARVESTING The process begins by gathering and
collecting nuts from both the rainforest floor, where
the nuts have fallen or harvested directly from the
palms. The material we use is hidden in the very
heart of the fruit. After harvesting, the seeds are
dried in the sun for up to 8 weeks.
HAND CARVING The carving process is done by
skilled artisans. While a grindstone and Dremel
are sometimes used to shape the nuts into intricate
shapes, most of the artisans use their own handmade
tools to achieve the desired outcome. This is a skill
that has been handed down from generation to generation.
DYING AND DRYING In large batches, the newly
shaped tagua pieces are submerged into vats of Italian,
certified organic vegetable dyes where the tagua
seeds absorb the color, the process can last anywhere
between 10-14 hours depending on the desired color.
Once the desired color is achieved, the tagua nuts are
laid out in the sun to dry, this can take up to 5 days.
TUMBLING The dyed tagua pieces are put into
tumblers for 10-14 hours. This is what gives our
tagua that smooth and shiny appearance, no chemicals
are used in processing our jewelry.
ASSEMBLING Finally, the artisans skillfully
assemble the tagua into fashionable jewelry Each
artisan can assemble up to 100 pieces per day. Our
artisans have a safe work environment, make a fair,
living wage and enjoy the work that they do.