Craftsmen - Itsara Bijoux

fabrication artisanale traditionnelle de bijoux

The Craftsmen

Each itsara jewel bears the imprint of the one who fashioned it

les artisans, fabriquant des bijoux en argent massif pour itsara

Craftsmen from the Karen ethnic group

All Itsara jewels come from a traditional craft of the golden triangle.

The craftsmen belong to the Karen tribe, an ethnic group originally from Burma and live in a beautiful village in northern Thailand: Na Saï.

They are mostly Buddhists and animists.

artisane de la tribu karen, fabricante de bijoux — Craftswoman Karen: Da

A craft on a human scale

They work in small groups of two to five people, often as a family, and the workshop is in the family home.

The work of silver jewelry is carried out with respect for tradition and the craftsman, in calm and good understanding

The schedules are malleable and adjusted according to the needs of the artisan's family (school leaving, young child) or the requirements of the culture (rice, vegetables, fruit trees, etc.).

Formerly reserved for men, this craft is now practiced by as many women as men.

No miner makes the jewelry. All the children go to the very beautiful school that the village has.

réalisation artisanale des bijoux en argent massif

The rare work of pure silver

Rich in a know-how unique in the world, these craftsmen perpetuate techniques that are increasingly rare in our industrialized world.

The tools used are rudimentary and many are made by the craftsman himself with ingenuity.

Karen craftsmen maintain the tradition and work with 99% pure silver, without mixture.

Thanks to the purity of silver, the metal is softer and manual work is easier. Almost without any moulding, all the jewels are made by cutting, striking, driving in, twisting, hammering, braiding and welding, with the mastery of thousand-year-old techniques.

Each piece carries within it the unique imprint of the one who shaped it.

Learn more about pure silver