Precious and semi-precious Stone

Natural stones such as malachite, lapis lazuli, tanzanite, ruby, sapphire, emeralds and carnelian, still excite interest in Africa and everywhere around the world; massive deposits of superb opals have recently been uncovered in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Silver 

Our silver jewellery was mostly manufactured from the high quality silver of the Maria Theresia Thaler coins, originally minted in 1740 in Austria. The most famous mint was in 1780. Good quality copies of these coins, still used for their silver content, were circulated during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936. In 1893, the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik introduced an equivalent Ethiopian silver coin, the talari, but it was unsuccessful in replacing the Austrian thaler coins, and has now become a collector’s item. Over 400 million thalers have been minted since 1780.

Silversmiths were largely trained in northern Ethiopia and the intricate beads such as the ‘goobagoobs’ and delicate crosses are a testament to skills of craftsmen who work with the most basic tools. Silver beads from eastern Ethiopia probably originally came from Yemen and further afar. Now the Harar people are skilled in making their famous Muria beads and Murghafs.

Ethiopian Gold 

Our silver jewellery was manufactured largely from imported coins; however, gold is found as an alluvial mineral or in deep mines in Ethiopia and is fashioned into 18 carat jewellery in the same patterns as silver. No matter how intricate the work, it is still sold by weight, the price following the world gold market. Our gold jewellery is fashioned by our favourite goldsmith Kiros Tefere in Addis Ababa.