Ants can be found in more places than just crawling across picnic blankets to steal crumbs.
In Cocoerow Fine Jewelry’s “Kokoro” piece, an ant takes the form of a pendant in 18-karat yellow gold, its head and body set with 0.14 carats of emeralds and a 2.60-carat opal.
The pendant’s bail features a 0.16-carat tourmaline, 0.14-carat sapphire, 0.08-carat aquamarine, 0.09-carat tanzanite, and 0.05-carat lab-grown diamond, all princess cut.
Cocoerow Fine Jewelry founder and designer Christine Olowonira said she was inspired by the impact of female ant-led colonies and their impact on our world.
“In their ecosystems, predominantly female ant colonies are vital, aerating the soil to enhance fertility, dispersing seeds to promote plant growth, and maintaining ecological balance,” Olowonira said.
“Their collective efforts sustain the natural world and showcase the transformative power of collaboration and the essential role of women-led systems in shaping thriving environments.”
The name of the piece, “Kokoro,” is a Yoruba word that translates to “ant.”
The “Kokoro” pendant was designed by Christine Olowonira, founder and designer of Cocoerow Fine Jewelry, and manufactured by Patricio Alvarez in New York City. It uses mercury-free 18-karat yellow gold mined by Lucila Huanca in Peru, gems from Columbia Gem House, and a lab-grown diamond from Chatham.
As one of the more than 20 independent jewelry brands working with Reciprocity Jewels, Olowonira teamed with artisanal miners from Peru’s Madre de Dios region to craft her Kokoro piece with mercury-free gold that is traceable to the individual who mined the gold.
Lucila Huanca mined the gold used in “Kokoro” while Patricio Alverez manufactured the piece in New York City.
The colored gemstones came from Columbia Gem House and the lab-grown diamond from Chatham.
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Reciprocity Jewels is a grouping of designers who aim to reshape the jewelry supply chain by emphasizing the value of responsibility and transparently sourced materials, specifically Peruvian gold.
For this year’s exhibition at NYCJW, the group worked with gold from Asociación Minera Tauro Fátim, a network of miners in a remote mining corridor in the Amazon.
The collective of miners received training in mercury-free mining and reforestation techniques from Pure Earth to achieve Fairmined certification.
“I chose the ‘Kokoro’ pendant for our Reciprocity exhibition because it beautifully embodies the spirit of the collaboration,” Olowonira said.
“Inspired by the ant, the central motif of my collection titled ‘Kokoro’ (Yoruba for ‘ant’), this piece celebrates the elegance of unity, the harmony of nature, and the strength discovered in collective effort.”
