The attractive western Namibian landscapes surrounding the Brandberg, Spitzkoppe and Erongo areas, beholds a field of treasures that is hidden to the naked eye - a renowned variety of high-quality gemstones. Within the lines of their crystalline structure,harshly shaped by the elements, one can trace the story of their tale, as old-as-time. And today, with the kind hands of Mine Stones, they can be an adornment for you too.
There is an indescribable atmosphere living within the villages near Klein-Spitzkoppe, the Brandberg and the Erongo mountain range. Forging and hammering in sands and rockfaces, in seek of semi-precious stones, is a group of small-scale miners. Always busily at work, sitting in-between heaps of sand and scattered rock, exposed to the unforgiving Namibian sun, these men and women spend their days digging out and chiselling gemstones from rock walls. Using their rough and calloused palms, brittle nails and darkened knuckles, they carefully remove their treasures from the rocks - topaz, tourmaline, clear and smoky quartz, amethyst, fluorite and aquamarine.
The miners work laboriously on their own and others operate together in groups, eventually sharing the proceeds amongst one another. Most are subjected to the constraints of poverty together with their families, and thus, almost all of the miners share acollective dream: finding a valuable stone pocket – a deposit of multiple little stones to secure a large return. Due to the rarity of these however, very few manage to find them.
In support of these men and women that sustain from small-scale mining and jewellery craftsmanship, Mine Stones is a proud Namibian brand and initiative that creates handcrafted jewellery from these treasures they come across. Complementing the natural beauty of theNamibian nature and those born within, Mine Stones uniquely celebrates the rich original shape of this material, by retaining the stones as close to their “raw” form as possible. With this combination of the organic semi-precious stone and sterling silver, the ranges of jewellery become ambassadors of their origin, the rocky terrains of western Namibia. And so evoke the emotions of truly discovering the untouched stones of the land.
Every piece of jewellery follows its very own curation process, from the person mining the gemstone to the process of design and execution by the jeweller – each item distinguishes from the next. Whether it is in origin, cut, colour, size or clarity, it is the exclusivity of each design as well as its very own story of how it came to be, that fascinates.
Mine Stones has righteously so, carved a unique role in the jewellery industry of our country. Timeless pieces, crafted entirely within the borders of Namibia – from start to finish. The Narrative Namibia is delighted to be associated with the proud Namibian soul of Mine Stones.
Written by: Inke Stoldt
