About our Jewellery

BeauCoco jewellery is designed to make a strong contemporary statement.  All our exclusive designs are individually handmade to create easily wearable pieces that range from the classic to the quirky.  We work predominantly with unwanted materials such as recycled glass, brass and coconut shell and work closely with craft groups in the developing world to combine and transform these waste materials using sterling silver,  and swarovski crystals.  Most items are hand finished in the UK.

Due to the nature of production and materials used, each piece will be unique and therefore not identical to the photograph but will have very similar characteristics.

Recycled Glass:

Our recycled glass beads have a beautiful sea-worn quality which feels both natural and precious.  They have a satisfying weight about them and combine beautifully with our other materials to create timeless classics.

Used glass is collected from all over West Africa and is roughly ground down and individually reformed into beads using clay molds. 

 

There is no electricity available and the bead molds are fired in a simple earth kiln in much the same way that the earliest glass beads would have been produced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each bead is spun in the mold to form its shape and a tool is used to create a hole through the centre to complete the bead. 

This process means each bead is completely unique and all colours are produced purely from the original recycled glass with no additional chemical involved.  This is a family based group of the Krobo people who have a long history of bead making and is based in the West Africa.

Recycled Brass:

Also from Africa our recycled brass charms and pendants are made using a very ancient technique called The Lost Wax Process. However, in the spirit of the 21st century old brass plumbing fittings are used as the source of our raw material.

The first stage of production is for a wax model to be carefully  made by hand according to our design specifications. The wax is provided by the local honey bee.  Layers of charcoal powder are then built up around the model and baked in the sun to form a strong mold. 

  

The brass fittings are broken into small pieces and placed in a second mold that fits like a lid on top of the first mold.  This is then all placed in a trench kiln and as the brass melts, the wax escapes through a channel and the brass runs in and takes its place.  

  

Once it has been baked in the kiln and cooled the mold is broken open to reveal the finished piece.

 

This technique for forming metal is known to have been used as early as 5,000BC.  Our finished items have all the qualities that such an ancient technique provides but we work closely with our producers to deliver a delicacy in our designs that makes them quietly contemporary.

Coconut:

With wonderful natural qualities coconut is excellent to use in jewellery especially as it is very flattering to all complexions.  In our designs we emphasize the wide range of colour and texture the shell has, from the creamy young shell to the deep rich browns of maturity.

 

Our coconut is crafted on the remote island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean by a not-for-profit organisation supporting disabled creoles. This group is very skilled and we have been able to incorporate swarovski crystal, silver and gold leaf, and inlaid sterling silver into our designs, materials not usually associated with "coconut jewellery".  

Rodrigues suffers from very high unemployment and this organisation offers security to people who have very few other opportunities.   Coconut was chosen as the material for the craft group as it is one of the few resources in excess on the island.

 

About Our Mission
BeauCoco is committed to trading ethically in the following ways:

We work with poor and marginalised producer groups, helping them develop skills and sustainable livelihoods through trading relationships.

We pay fair prices that cover the groups production costs and helps enable and living wage.

We pay a portion or the full value of an order in advance when needed to assist the groups production costs.

We only work with groups that can ensure the fair treatment of all workers with good conditions in the work place and throughout the supply chain.

We aim to build long term relationships, rather than looking for short term commercial advantage.

We support environmental awareness by using discarded materials as the key component in our designs. 

All our package materials are natural and recycled or recyclable.