Out of Africa

It must be no secret that I love jewellery, and out of all the ways women have found to adorn themselves, I love necklaces and earrings the most. I have both minimalist and maximalist tendencies – sometimes a featherweight of jewellery is quite enough, and on another day more is more is more – so long as my shoulders can stand it.

I have long been attracted to tribal jewellery, particularly to that of Africa and Afghanistan, and prefer opaque stones to sparkly gems (unless it is ridiculously OTT in true Bollywood style). Anything that jingles will surely attract my notice (as my bemused work colleagues will attest!).

sometimes a featherweight of jewellery is quite enough, and on another day more is more is more …

I sport a small collection around my neck, two of which I made myself, and one that is vintage. The biggest is made from shells alternated with silver baroque freshwater pearls. The shells originally formed a belt, which I found in a charity store for a few dollars. It is quite heavy to wear, but I like that it is almost a piece of sculpture. I call it my dinosaur spine necklace. The other handmade necklace is made up of small and larger wooden beads and white pearls. And the third necklace is vintage Eighties, consisting of freshwater and glass pearl beads, that I bought on Etsy.

Although wearing piles of beads is fun for a photoshoot, I am far more likely to wear the dinosaur spine on its own, and let it shine in solitary splendour – I have a way to go before I can match these African ladies (photographed by Mario Gerth in Namibia, Niger, Kenya, Mali and Ethiopia).

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