Les matériaux

 

Tribu ornamental jewellery is created from natural materials. We search the world for the best sources in order to ensure the very finest quality and highest standards for each material. Click on the material name to browse items within that category. 

                                                                          

At Tribu we only use natural material to produce our carefully designed pieces of body adornment, therefore we could not leave wood out of the picture. There are eight different types of wood which are used for this purpose, Palm wood, Black Wood, Indian Rosewood, Sandalwood, Sono wood, Ghana Wood, Pacific Oak wood, and Olive Wood. Body adornments made of wood are light weighted, and of a vast versatility. The hardness of the wood will depend of the type of wood being used. Body adornments made of wood require specific care, such as being periodically lightly oiled with coconut or jojoba oil, to help it maintain their moister content. This will also prevent the product from becoming too dark throughout the times. Avoid soaking it, as wood absorbs water too quickly. A good advice to keep your wood jewellery with a beautiful appearance for a long time, is from time to time polish it with vegan palm wax. As we like to make the best out of every piece of body adornment, we have items that are inlaid with silver, brass, and also with some gemstones like malachite among other ones.

Browse through our Wood categories and find items in the best wood type for you!

Palm Wood:
This wood varies in colour from pale beige with thick orange veins through to a dark brown with beige veins. It is very light in weight.
Black Wood:
Very black in colour and looks like ebony. It is important not to confuse this material with horn, being a good alternative for people who don't use animal products.
Indian Rosewood:
Dark red hardwood with a natural sheen.
Sandalwood:
Mid-beige in colour and somewhat oily with a distinctive sweet fragrance. Sandalwood is not used for any piercing jewellery - but mainly for necklaces and bracelets. it naturally occurs in Eastern India in the states of Mysore, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnatika.
Spiritual Uses of Sandalwood:
Sandalwood is used in many different ways in the spiritual traditions of the east. It is considered beneficial for meditation, calming and focusing the mind. It is used in incense in temples or personal altars to remind us of the fragrance of the heavenly realms. Sandalwood was also used to construct parts of temples, when it was more available. Meditation beads or malas are made with sandalwood in which Mantras or a personal prayer is repeated as the beads roll through the fingers. Sandalwood paste is used in many rituals including fire ceremonies and to anoint the forehead as a blessing, as well as to make a design symbolic to particular religious sects. The oil of sandalwood is used to anoint deities. In this way the fragrance which is emitted over time also helps to remind one of the spiritual realm. This oil is one of the best fragrant aids to meditation. A drop or two can be applied to the forehead, the temples or rubbed between the eyebrows before beginning meditation, a way to set the stage and prepare the mind to begin its inward journey.
Sono Wood:
Dalbergia latifolia is a premium-quality timber species internationally known as "Indian Rosewood". It is a mixed brown colour or Dark red hardwood with a natural sheen and is used to manufacture furniture, panelling, and other ornamental products. Medicines and an appetizer are made from tannins in the bark. The tree is commonly called sitsal, beete, shisham or Bombay Blackwood in India, and sonokeling or sonobrits in Indonesia.
Ghana Wood
This is lightwood that originates in Ghana. It is often used in typical Ghanaian woodcarvings and is harder than other types of wood. It's light colour will gradually darken overtime.
Pacific Oak Wood
Misleadingly referred to as Ebony wood in certain parts of Asia. However, Pacific Oak Wood is a lot more like Oak and can only be found in Asia, whereas Ebony comes from Africa and is a lot more dark black in colour than the Pacific Oak Wood.

Olive Wood
Tribu’s Olive Wood originates from olive trees from Ibiza, Spain. Olive Wood is especially hard wood and therefore guarantees longevity. It is also particularly beautiful because of its texture and variation in its natural sandy colours. The Olive tree today is often used as a symbol for peace, because according to the Bible, a dove brought an olive branch to Noah to show that the flood was over. Like most wood, Olive Wood will also darken over time, but its texture will always remain visible. 


  

Brass

Brass is an alloy (mix) of copper and zinc, it is nickel-free. Most horn instruments like tuba and saxophone are made of it. It can be produced in a range of colours, from deep red to golden yellow depends on the metal's polish process. It can be formed into any desire shapes and forms while retaining high strength, that makes it into one of the most popular metals used for jewellery. Brass retains water spots so always dry it immediately and thoroughly. If need of a polish, it can easily be cleaned with a cloth and some fresh lemon juice. Some people have a reaction to brass jewellery as brass oxidizes & develops a patina (changes colour) quite nicely, but because of this, it can turn your skin green if worn for long periods of time, or when wet.

                                              

Tribal Silver

Hill Tribe Silver is made by the Karen tribe in Northern Thailand. These handcrafted pieces are 95% to 99% pure silver. The higher silver content (compared to sterling silver, which is 92.5%) makes the pieces softer and easier to shape.
Oxidation, hammer marks, and slight design variances are part of the allure of these distinctive pieces.
Usually, Karen Hill Tribe Silver goes through an oxidation process. This causes the silver items to turn black. The silver is then polished leaving the black colouring only in the grooves of the item, this allows tiny details and patterns to stand out. Please note that many of the pieces will not be stamped as the stamping process is a very costly procedure and many manufacturers cannot afford this.

                                                    

Gold Filled

Gold filled also known as "rolled gold" is an actual layer of gold-pressure bonded to another metal such as brass and it's the perfect economical alternative to all of you gold lovers. Anyone who can wear gold can wear gold filled jewellery without any worries of any allergies. Not to be confused with gold plating as gold filled literally has 100% more gold then gold plating and offers all the same characteristics as solid gold such as strength, durability and beauty. Even with daily wear gold filled items lasts five to thirty years, it does not flake off, rub off or turn colours. The best way you can take care of your gold filled items, is to simply keep away from any chemicals, clean regularly with mildly sudsy water, rinse well and pat dry carefully with a non-scratching cloth. Polish with a jewellery polish cloth.

 

                                                                                    

Petrified Wood

Petrified wood (literally meaning “wood turned into stone” is the name given to a special type of fossilised remains of terrestrial vegetation.
It is the result of the tree having turned completely into stone by the process of per mineralization. All the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. Tribu our petrified wood originates primarily from India.
                                                                                         

Ammonite

Ammonites are a group of marine invertebrate animals, which became extinct at the close of the Cretaceous (65.5 Ma) along with the dinosaurs. Tribu’s Ammonites originate from Madagascar, which are known for their iridescence and are often of gem quality when polished. Their colours can range from dark brown to yellow and deep green.
                                                                                        

Onyx

Onyx is a mineral of the Earth that is a compacted and coloured form of quartz. Unlike ordinary quartz, the crystalline structure is fine and compacted, making it ideal for gemstones, and cameos. On the Moh's hardness scale, which ranges from 0 to 10, onyx falls between 6.5 and 7; compared with diamonds, which are 10. Onyx is found in a variety of different colours. At Tribu we use the green and black onyx for our jewellery. Green onyx has a colour range from a very light lime-green colour to a very light forest-green colour. Green onyx is believed to foster achievement, while black onyx is believed to have powers to absorb and transform negative energy. Black onyx is also considered helpful for reducing stress levels and promoting mental health.
                                                                   

Opal 

Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, not a mineral. Opal’s internal structure makes it diffract light; depending on the conditions in which it is formed, it can take on many colours. Opal ranges from clear through white, grey, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown and black. Of these hues, the reds against black are other most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common. Opal is believed to promote introspection, spark imagination and strength and intuition.

                                                                                                        


 

This page will be soon updated with images for better introduction with the Materials.

 

Thanks for your patience!

 

Tribu