Cebu the center of jewelry in the Philippines

by Ailie
(Cebu Philippines)

I would like to introduce the island of Cebu in the central Philippines, the home of Philippines jewellery.

Our island is in the central Visayas and is major commerce and transport centre, we have our own dialect, Cebuano, which is different from the rest of the country.

Cebu has a thriving jewellery industry which exports all over the world.

We use shells, silver and other metals, caribou bone, silk and other materials to hand make our jewellery.

I have worked in this industry a long time and we do not just assemble pieces, we make it from the beginning by collecting, processing the materials and then creating the best jewellery.

Shells are collected then coloured and graded to make pieces with small shells like the wind chimes and the larger ones are hand carved to make pendants and sculpture.

Caribou (water buffalo) bones are sorted and bleached ready for carving and silk thread is combined with metal frames to make earrings like in the picture.

If you ever visit, take the time to see the many local crafts persons showing their wide range of skills with jewellery making.