Berber Necklace - Copal Amber with Inset Turquoise and Silver Findings

Big honey-colored beads, each crossed by a stripe of turquoise and capped in silver.

This necklace of copal amber with inset turquoise and silver findings is Berber (Amazigh), from Morocco, North Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Berber women have long worn heavy necklaces of amber, silver and coral, often understood as both adornment and a portable store of family wealth. Here round beads of warm orange-gold copal, swirled with lighter clouds, are set with a band of crushed turquoise and held in silver caps with fine beaded wire. They are strung on a knotted brown cord with a sliding closure. It is 27 inches long, and adjustable.

Generous beads, and not a single one is shy.