TAGUA JEWELRY. WHAT IS IT?

Tagua is a seed pod from a palm tree that grows in the tropical rainforest of South America’s Pacific coast. It is often called vegetable ivory because after being dried and tumbled it has a striking similarity to elephant ivory. Since the early 1900s, tagua has been carved for items such as chess pieces, cane handles, dice and buttons. It was used widely over three continents until plastics took its place. Today it is used primarily for artisan jewelry and luxury goods.

It takes 15 years for a palm to produce its first tagua clusters, but then each tree can produce a bounty of tagua for 100 years. Tagua clusters fall to the ground when ripe. Harvesting them preserves the rainforest floor. The economic viability from tagua provides an incentive for rainforest conservation in South America.