Tagua nut necklace

Tagua nut necklace

100% fair traded

Dimensions: approx. 60 cm

Neck jewelry made of Tagua nut

“Tagua” is the seed of a palm tree (Phytelephas Macrocarpa) that is up to 7 meters high and grows in the warm wetlands of Ecuador. The palm tree reaches a height of approx. 7 m. After the harvest, the Tagua nuts are still soft. By drying, which takes about 2-3 years, it finally becomes hard as stone. The taqua nut is also known as "vegetable ivory". The scientific name of the palm derives from the Greek word "phyton" for "plant" and "elephas" for "elephant", and the name indicates the similarity to the ivory. Even connoisseurs have trouble distinguishing Tagua ivory from elephant ivory.

The processing of the Tagua ivory is a tedious job and takes place in many individual steps. The nuts are mainly used for carvings, for the production of jewelry, buttons ("stone nut buttons"), jars, cubes and small toys. In addition, the pulp is used to prepare a South American fermented drink ("Chicha de Tagua"). In the last century, taqua nuts were brought in from America as ballast and thrown into the sea in Europe when the cargo was unloaded.

The nut is neither poisonous nor does it have an odor. The jewelry does not stain on the skin, it is still recommended not to bring the jewelry in direct contact with water.