Zuri

“Zuri is the Swahili word for beautiful – we strive each day to tell the story of the beautiful people and beautiful continent of Africa that we are so lucky to call home.

Our Sterling Silver Elephant Knot Collection is based on the original elephant hair bangles that have been made in Africa for over 1,500 years. The bangles and knots themselves tell us a story about the relationship between nature and the relationship to our ancestors. They are believed to protect the wearer from harm, whilst bringing with them good luck, good health and good fortune.

Our artistic and unique Ndoro designs in Sterling Silver are a stylised version of the original Ndoros that were used for trade in ancient Africa, dating back to the 11th century. The original Ndoros were, in fact, shells introduced as a form of currency when trading began with the Great Zimbabwean Empire between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, in what is now the modern state of Zimbabwe. As the popularity of this form of currency increased, traders started to make them from ceramic, which made them a lot more uniform than the original ground-down shells. The Ndoro design we have created is hand-engraved, one little dot at a time. Due to this fact, every single one of our Ndoro pendants are unique, just like the original Ndoros that inspired this design all those years ago. Not only was the Ndoro a form of currency, but it also became the ‘bling’ of the day, thus the number of Ndoros worn was a direct indication of your status in society and your wealth.”