Jewelry | African Fashion Accessories
43 items
Fashion Accessories
Beaded Flower Earrings, Kenyan Flag Colours, Handmade
Handmade beaded flower earrings from Kenya, worked in the black, red, green and white of the Kenyan flag with a faceted blue bead at the centre. Each flower is built by hand from small glass beads threaded into loops that spiral out from the middle, so the white arms cross over the red, green and black underneath and the shape holds without any metal frame behind it. Faceted silver tone beads sit around the outer edge and catch the light when you move. They hang from plain hook fittings. The four colours are the national flag. Black stands for the people, red for the blood shed in the fight for independence, green for the land, and white for peace and honesty. The store is called Mulembe beads, and mulembe is the Luhya word for peace, so the white beads and the maker's own greeting are saying the same thing. They are a statement pair, so they sit best against a plain top or a plain dress. Keep them dry, put them on after perfume or lotion, and store them flat so the beaded arms stay in line.
£6.00Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Agbada Beads Set for Men
Complete your traditional Nigerian look with this handmade Agbada beads set, crafted for the modern African man. The set features three long beaded necklaces and three matching bracelets, made from premium Brazilian coral, natural stone beads, sparkling crystal beads and polished gold ball beads. Perfect for weddings, naming ceremonies, festivals and special occasions, this elegant accessory set adds authentic African style and cultural heritage to your agbada, kaftan or senator outfit. Each piece is carefully handcrafted by skilled artisans, making it a meaningful gift and a timeless addition to any wardrobe.
£60.00Sold by Lolari Glamour • Abuja
Fashion Accessories
Navy Blue Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set in navy blue. One multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and a pair of drop earrings, strung by hand in Kiambu. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Navy is the one you can wear to work. The rest of this range is built to be seen from across a room, which is exactly right for a wedding and exactly wrong for a Tuesday. Navy does the opposite. It reads as jewellery rather than as an occasion, so it sits with a suit, a plain shirt or a dark dress without announcing itself before you do. It is also the easiest piece in the range to wear if you are new to beadwork. Navy sits close enough to black that the shape and the scale register before the colour does, so a collar this size stops feeling like a leap and starts feeling like a good necklace. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beadwork in the same order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set rather than five things that happen to match. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu. Every strand is counted out bead by bead rather than measured, so the beadwork shifts a little from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Te Fiti Heart Necklace and Earring Set
Te Fiti's Heart is a handmade necklace and earring set crafted to bring a bold, one-of-one statement to your look. Designed for shoppers searching for unique handmade jewelry, this set blends artisanal detail, distinctive character, and everyday wearability. With its expressive design and thoughtful finish, it is an ideal gift or personal piece for anyone who loves original fashion jewelry with a story.
£20.00Sold by Alienesque Co • Nigeria
Fashion Accessories
Yellow Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set in bright yellow, with red sawtooth points and bands of white, turquoise and orange. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one three strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Yellow is the colour the human eye finds first. That is not a marketing line, it is the reason safety equipment everywhere is that shade. Worn at this scale it means you are what people see when they walk into a room, and what stands out in the group photograph afterwards. So this is a celebration piece rather than an everyday one. A wedding, a graduation, a naming ceremony, Easter, a launch, anywhere being noticed is the point rather than the risk. If you want beadwork that goes quietly about its business, look at the black or the navy sets instead. The points are worked in red against the yellow, with bands of white, turquoise and orange inside them and black separating each one. Red on yellow is the highest contrast pairing in the whole range, which is why this set still holds its shape at a distance where softer colours blur into one another. Wear it over white, cream, black or denim. Yellow needs space around it, so keep everything else plain and let the set do the work. The necklace is worked in three beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu, so the spacing of the points and the colour bands varies slightly from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Bright yellow shows marks more readily than a dark ground, so put the set on last and take it off first. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Black and Gold Beaded Necklace, Bracelet and Earring Set
A three piece beaded set in black and gold: a multi strand collar necklace with a coiled beaded flower at the centre front, a matching bracelet and drop earrings. Gold against black is the oldest formal pairing there is and this set uses it without apology. The gold runs in bands along the strands and gathers into the flower at the throat, so the piece has a focal point rather than being decorated evenly the whole way round. This is a formal set rather than an everyday one. It belongs with a plain dark dress, a white shirt, or traditional dress cut in a single deep colour, and it is built for the occasions where photographs get taken. If you want the same construction in something you could wear on an ordinary day, the black and multicolour set in this shop is the easier one to reach for. The necklace fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain. The bracelet is built the same way, several bead wrapped strands bound into shared gold tone caps, and the earrings repeat the same black and gold banding. Every strand is wrapped and bound by hand, so the width of the gold bands varies slightly from set to set. The flower at the centre is coiled by hand and is never twice the same. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water. Store the necklace flat or hanging so the strands hold their shape, and keep the centre flower from being crushed under other pieces in a jewellery box. Wipe with a dry soft cloth.
£45.00£50.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Adire Dangling Earrings
Elevate your everyday look with our handcrafted statement earrings, designed for women who love art, culture, elegance, and originality. Each piece is carefully made with attention to detail, blending creativity with timeless African-inspired beauty. From bold artistic designs to minimalist luxury styles, our earrings are lightweight, stylish, unique, and perfect for every occasion. Whether you’re dressing up for an event, creating content, gifting a loved one, or adding personality to your daily outfit, these earrings are made to stand out beautifully without compromising comfort. Why you’ll love them: • Handmade with premium finishing • Unique artistic and African-inspired designs • Lightweight and comfortable for long wear • Perfect for casual, classy, and occasion styling • Beautiful gift option for fashion lovers Style meets art in every piece. Limited pieces available.
£5.90£6.50Sold by FOSAC ENTERPRISE • Osun
Fashion Accessories
All Black Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece beaded set in solid black with gold tone fittings. No banding, no pattern, just the beadwork and the weight. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Every other set in this range is built on colour. This one is not. There is no banding and no pattern anywhere on it, and that changes what it actually is. Not African beadwork that happens to be black, but a piece of black jewellery that happens to be beaded. That is a practical difference rather than a poetic one. Colour decides where a piece can go. This has none, so it goes anywhere: a funeral, a board meeting, an evening event, or an ordinary day when you want the scale without the statement. It is the only set here you could wear five days running without anyone clocking it as the same necklace. With the colour taken away, the work shows in two other places. The beadwork has a texture that catches light in a way flat black never does, and the collar has real scale to it. The gold tone caps and clasp are the only break in the black, and they are what stop it reading as plain rather than deliberate. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings repeat the same beadwork, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu. Every strand is worked bead by bead, so the strands are never quite identical in thickness and no set matches the photographs exactly. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Black Multicolour Beaded Necklace, Bracelet and Earrings
A three piece beaded set in black, banded with red, orange, green, blue and white: a multi strand collar necklace, a matching bracelet and a pair of drop earrings. Black does something the brighter sets do not. It reads as jewellery rather than as costume, which means this one earns its place on an ordinary Tuesday as well as at a wedding. Wear all three pieces together when you want the full effect, or wear the bracelet and earrings on their own with a plain shirt and nobody would call it a lot. The colour sits in blocks against the black rather than running the whole way round, so the set has somewhere for the eye to land. The necklace fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it higher on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelet is built the same way, several bead wrapped strands bound into shared gold tone caps, and the earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order. Every strand is strung by hand, so the spacing of the colour bands varies slightly from set to set. Care: take the set off before perfume, lotion or water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Lay the necklace flat or hang it rather than folding it into a box, so the strands do not tangle. A dry soft cloth is all it needs.
£45.00£50.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Royal Blue Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set in royal blue, with orange sawtooth points and bands of red, turquoise and yellow. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one three strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. This set does something none of the others can. Royal blue is deep enough and saturated enough to hold its own against a print. Every other piece in this range wants a plain ground under it, because a pattern underneath turns the beadwork into noise. This one sits over Ankara, adire or a bold wrapper and still reads clearly. For anyone whose wardrobe is mostly print rather than mostly plain, which is most people who buy African fashion, that is the whole argument. The points are worked in orange against the blue, with bands of red, turquoise and yellow inside them and dark navy separating each one. Orange against royal blue is the hardest working pair in the range. They sit at opposite ends of the colour wheel, so each one makes the other look stronger than it would alone. It carries a wedding, church, a birthday, a shoot or an ordinary Saturday. Blue is the one colour almost nobody looks wrong in, which also makes it the safest of the bright sets to buy for someone else. The necklace is worked in three beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu, so the spacing of the points and the colour bands varies slightly from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Maasai Beaded Brass Cuff and Ring Set, White and Gold
A two piece set in white and gold beadwork: a brass cuff carrying a large round beaded disc, and a matching adjustable ring with a smaller disc in the same pattern. The disc on the cuff is beaded in concentric rings of white and metallic gold seed beads, worked outward from a single centre bead, with a beaded edge running right around the rim. The ring repeats the pattern at a fraction of the size, which is the harder of the two to make: the same rings have to fall into a disc that sits on a finger. Both pieces are built on brass. The cuff is an open band that slips over the wrist rather than fastening, and the ring band is open at the back so it adjusts to the finger. White and gold is the version of this beadwork that goes with everything. It sits as easily against a white shirt and jeans as it does against a wedding outfit, which is not true of the brighter colourways. Each disc is beaded by hand, so the spacing of the gold rings varies slightly between sets. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water. Brass darkens naturally with wear, and a soft dry cloth brings the shine back.
£38.00Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
White Beaded Necklace, Bracelet and Earring Set, Handmade
A three piece beaded set on white: a multi strand collar necklace banded in orange, blue, red, green and black, with a matching bracelet and a pair of drop earrings. White does the opposite of what black does. Instead of holding the colour back it throws it forward, so the bands read as bright blocks rather than as accents. That is why this is the set to reach for when the rest of the outfit is already plain. Over white linen, a black dress, denim, or traditional dress cut in a single colour, it becomes the thing people look at. It is bright without being heavy, which makes it easier to wear in daylight than most statement jewellery. The necklace is worked in several bead wrapped strands, banded with colour across the front and fastened at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain so the drop can be adjusted. The bracelet carries the same beads in the same order, which is what makes the three pieces read as one set. One honest note: white shows what black hides. Foundation, perfume and hand cream all mark pale beadwork, so this set rewards being put on last and taken off first. Every strand is strung by hand, so the spacing of the colour bands varies slightly from set to set. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion, make up and water. Lay the necklace flat or hang it rather than folding it into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe it with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£45.00£50.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Red and Black Beaded Necklace, Bracelet and Earring Set
A three piece beaded set in red and black: a multi strand collar necklace with a beaded flower at the centre front, a matching bracelet and drop earrings. The necklace is built from several bead wrapped strands gathered into gold tone caps and fastened at the back with a clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it higher on the collarbone or let it drop. At the centre front sits a five petal beaded flower worked in red and black, which is what makes this read as a designed piece rather than a plain collar. The bracelet is built the same way, several bead wrapped strands bound into shared gold tone caps with a hook fastening, and the earrings carry the same red and black banding, so the three pieces read as one thought rather than three accessories that happen to match. Red is the loudest thing you can put against plain black, white or cream, and this set is meant to be the one strong idea in an outfit rather than one of five small ones. It suits a wedding, a naming ceremony, church, or a shoot. If you would rather the jewellery sat back a little, the black and multicolour set in this shop does the same job more quietly. Every strand is strung by hand, so bead placement and the exact fall of the strands vary a little from set to set. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle. Wipe with a dry soft cloth.
£45.00£50.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Orange Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set on bright orange, blocked with turquoise, blue, red, green and white against black. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Orange is the only warm ground in this range. Everything else is built on black, white, navy or green, and those are all colours that sit back. Orange comes forward. It reads as sunlight rather than as formalwear, and it lifts a face instead of framing it. The colour is blocked here rather than banded. Squares of turquoise, royal blue, red, green and white are stacked across the strands and separated by black, so the pattern reads as a chequer laid over the orange rather than as stripes running round it. The blocks stagger slightly from strand to strand, which is what stops a piece this bright from looking printed. It does its best work on plain and warm: cream, tan, brown, white, denim, or a wrapper cut in a single colour. Against hard black it fights rather than sits, so if black is most of your wardrobe the navy set is the better buy. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same blocks in the same order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu. Each block is counted out bead by bead, so no two sets line up identically and none of them match the photographs exactly. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Brass Multi Wire Stacked Cuff Bracelet with Ring
A wide brass cuff built from dozens of fine wires looped onto a single frame, so it wears like a stack of thin bangles but slides on as one piece. A real stack of that many bangles slips, rattles and takes a minute to get on, and this gives you the same armful of gold colour without the noise. A matching domed brass ring comes with it. The wires are drawn, shaped and joined by hand in East Africa, so the spacing varies very slightly along the cuff and no two are identical. The back is open, so you can ease it a little wider or narrower to sit where you want on the wrist. Keep it dry, and bring the shine back with a soft cloth.
£40.00Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Half Flower Beaded Drop Earrings, Kenya Flag Colours
Beaded drop earrings built as a half flower: four padded petals in black, red, green and white around a coiled gold tone centre, edged bead by bead in gold and hung from a gold tone hook. Of the beadwork in this shop, this is the pair that says Kenya at a glance. The four petal colours are the four colours of the Kenyan flag and they are laid out plainly, so the piece is read across a room rather than explained up close. If you want that, this is the pair. If you would rather the colours were there without announcing themselves, the Infinity knot pair from the same maker sets the same colours into a knot that reads as a graphic shape first. Each petal is worked over a form so it sits domed rather than flat, with a raised line of gold beads down the spine and a picot edge of single gold beads all the way round. That edge is the slow part, added one bead at a time after the petal is finished. The beads are the small glass seed beads sold across Kenya as Maasai beads, which is the maker's own term for them. The flower pattern is the maker's own, not a traditional motif. Keep them dry, take them off before swimming, and store them flat so the petals keep their shape.
£6.00Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Coffee Brown Button and Gold Hoop Earrings, Handmade
A handmade drop earring built from coffee brown buttons and a large gold tone hoop, with a second smaller button hanging inside the ring. If you want the scale of a statement hoop without a bright colour, this is the pair to reach for. Brown reads as a neutral against tan, cream, denim and black, where this maker's fuchsia rose pair and orange amber pair are deliberately loud. Pick those when you want the colour to do the talking, and this one when you want the shape to. Construction: a four hole button sits at the ear as the stud, a jump ring carries the gold tone hoop, and a second button, brown with a pale rim, hangs inside the hoop so it swings clear of the ring. About 7cm long from the top of the stud. Care: put them on after perfume and hairspray, keep them dry, and store them flat on the card they arrive on.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
Red Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set in red, with white sawtooth points and bands of blue, orange, yellow and green. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. If Maasai beadwork has a home colour, it is this one. Red dominates Maasai dress and it is the shade most associated with the culture the work comes from. Every other set in this range is a variation on the idea. This is the one that sits closest to the source. It is also the loudest piece here, and it is meant to be. Red at this scale does not accompany an outfit, it decides one. That makes it the wrong choice for an ordinary work day and exactly the right one for a wedding, a naming ceremony, a birthday, or anywhere a photograph is going to be taken. The points are worked in white rather than black, so they flare against the red instead of cutting it. Inside them run bands of blue, orange, yellow and green, each one separated by black. It wants a plain ground and nothing competing with it: white, cream, black, or traditional dress cut in a single colour. Do not put it over a print, because one of the two will lose and it will not be the necklace. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu, so the spacing of the points and the colour bands varies slightly from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Kenyan Brass Split Cuff and Beaded Medallion Ring Set
A two piece set in brass toned metal: an open cuff built from two parallel bars joined by a bridge, and a matching adjustable ring, each carrying an oval panel of hand woven cream and gold seed beads. Look at the second photograph for the construction. The cuff is not a solid band. It is two bars held apart by a vertical strut, so most of what sits on the wrist is skin rather than metal and the beaded oval floats above that gap. It is a lighter and more architectural look than a plain cuff, and it is why the set reads as designed rather than simply decorated. The beadwork is cream white with a line of gold running through the centre of each oval, worked row by row. The cuff is open at the back so it slips on, and the maker gives a fit of 5.5 to 7.5 inch wrists. The ring is adjustable. Keep away from water and perfume, and store the two pieces apart so the beadwork does not catch on the cuff.
£55.00Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
African Rasta Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Rasta beaded set in black, banded with yellow, red and green and finished in gold tone. One necklace, three bracelets and a pair of earrings. Includes one three strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Five pieces, which is two more than most beaded sets at this price. The colour does not sit in straight bands here. The yellow runs into the black in a flame edge, sawtooth points that break the line where the two meet, with narrow red and green stripes laid across the yellow. It is a harder thing to bead than a straight band, and it is the reason this one does not read like every other black beaded necklace. Black carries the red, gold and green rather than competing with them, so the Rasta colours read as deliberate rather than costume. That is what makes this one wearable on an ordinary day as well as at carnival, a reggae night, a birthday or Africa Day. Against plain black, white or denim it does all the work on its own. The necklace is worked in three beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone lobster clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set rather than five things that happen to match. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Every strand is strung and bound by hand in Kiambu, so the spacing of the flame points and the colour bands varies slightly from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Turquoise Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set in turquoise blue with black sawtooth points and bands of yellow, white, green and red. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. If you pictured Maasai beadwork before you opened this page, this is probably close to what you saw. Turquoise against black is the pairing the work is known for, and it is the one that reads as Maasai from across a room instead of needing to be explained. It is also the easiest of the bright sets to wear outdoors. Turquoise holds its colour in daylight where deeper shades flatten out, so it photographs well and it sits over denim, white linen or cream without any effort at all. This is the summer and holiday piece in the range. The blue is broken by black sawtooth points, and inside them run bands of yellow, white, green and red. The points are counted out bead by bead rather than measured, which is why the teeth are never quite even and why the piece looks made rather than manufactured. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set rather than five things that happen to match. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu, so the spacing of the sawtooth points and the colour bands varies slightly from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Infinity Knot Beaded Earrings, Kenya Flag Colours
Beaded drop earrings in the shape of a continuous knot: three beaded loops in red, black and green crossing over and under each other into a soft triangle, with a single white bead at each of the three crossings and a gold tone hook above. These are the quieter of this maker's flag pieces. The eye reads the knot first and the colours second, so they carry Kenya without turning an outfit into a statement about it, and they work just as well with black, denim or grey as with something bright. If you want the colours read immediately instead, the Half Flower pair from the same maker lays them out petal by petal. Each loop is threaded on a core that holds its curve, which is what lets the knot keep its shape in the air instead of collapsing flat, and the beads are packed tightly enough that no thread shows on the outside of the bend. The small white beads are not decoration: they sit exactly where the loops pass each other and mark the three crossings. The beads are the small glass seed beads sold across Kenya as Maasai beads, which is the maker's own term. They are very light for their size, so they hang well in a soft ear. Keep them dry and store them flat.
£6.00Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Classic Peyote Earrings necklace and bracelet set
A beautifully handcrafted three-piece beaded jewellery set featuring the timeless peyote beadwork technique. The set includes matching earrings, a necklace, and bracelet, designed to create a coordinated and elegant look. Handmade in Kenya • Elegant • Lightweight • Versatile
£11.00£12.00Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Kenyan Flag Beaded Cuff Bracelet, Red or Green, Handmade
A hand beaded Kenyan flag cuff bracelet made in Kenya, in two designs, for wearing the flag to a match, a celebration or every day. You choose the design at checkout. Red cuff: a solid red beaded band with a narrow stripe in the flag colours running across it, and the Maasai shield from the centre of the Kenyan flag worked over the top in red, black and white beads. This is the cuff in the first photograph. Green: the flag itself wrapped around the wrist, wide bands of green, red and black divided by white, with the shield beaded where the stripes meet. It fastens with two black press studs, as the second photograph shows. If you want the flag to read at a glance, choose the green cuff, because it is the whole flag. If you want a bold block of colour that sits well with a plain outfit, choose the red. The maker gives the size as 20cm. It is made from beads and string by hand, so the pattern can vary slightly from cuff to cuff. Keep it dry and store it flat.
£20.00Sold by Tribal Shop • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Purple Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set on lilac purple, with yellow sawtooth points and bands of orange, green, turquoise and yellow. Necklace, three bracelets and earrings. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Purple is close to unheard of in this kind of beadwork, and lilac more so. The traditional palette runs to red, blue, green, white and black, so a pastel ground like this is a modern choice rather than an old one. That is the reason to buy it. Almost nobody else will be wearing one. It behaves differently from the rest of the range too. Every other set puts bright colour on a strong ground, so the whole piece pushes forward at you. Lilac pulls the other way. The bands still carry orange, green and turquoise, but they sit on something gentle, so this reads as decorative rather than as a statement you have to commit to for the whole evening. The points are picked out in yellow here rather than black, which is unusual. Most of the beadwork in this range uses black to cut the ground. This one uses yellow, so the sawtooth reads as a warm flare instead of a hard edge. It sits well with white, cream, grey, denim and the softer summer colours. Against hard black it loses the point of itself. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu, so the spacing of the points and the colour bands varies slightly from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Pale grounds mark more easily than dark ones, so put the set on last and take it off first. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
EHC Gold Trim Button Stud Earrings, Black, Red or Brown
Button stud earrings with a gold tone metal crescent curved around one edge, sold as one pair in black, red, or a brown tortoiseshell with a crystal centre. This is the dressiest pair in the collection and the metal edge is what does it. The curve gives the button a setting, so from across a room the earring reads as jewellery rather than as a button, which is the opposite of what the plain wooden pairs are doing. If you want the maker's idea somewhere nobody will remark on it, pick this one. The buttons are moulded plastic with a high gloss. The black and red pairs are plain faces with the metal curve alone; the brown pair is a tortoiseshell effect with a small crystal set in the centre. The post is fixed to the back of the button, so nothing shows from the front. Wipe with a dry cloth and keep them out of hot water.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Wooden Button Stud Earrings, Pink, Green or Beige
Large stud earrings made from painted wooden buttons, on gold tone posts with butterfly backs. Choose one pair in pink, mint green or beige. The price is for one pair. They are the size of a real coat button, which is the whole point of them, and they weigh almost nothing, so you get the scale of a statement earring without the drag on the earlobe that usually comes with it. All three colourways are soft rather than bright, so they sit on top of a printed shirt without arguing with it. These are wooden buttons, hand painted, so the four stitch holes are still there and the grain still shows through the paint at the rim. The post is fixed to the back of the button rather than through a hole, so nothing shows from the front. The second photograph shows the three pairs loose, including one turned over, which is the best look at the fitting and at the true size. Keep them dry. Wood and water do not agree, so take them off before washing your face.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
Off White Button and Gold Hoop Earrings, Resin Drop
A handmade drop earring with an off white button at the ear, a large gold tone hoop, and a clear resin disc set with gold domes hanging inside it. This is the quiet one in the range. The resin disc and the gold studs give it a finish closer to bought jewellery than to craft, so the button idea reads as a detail rather than the whole statement. Off white sits against anything, where the fuchsia, orange and red pairs in this shop are chosen for their colour. Construction: a four hole off white button forms the stud, a jump ring carries the gold tone hoop, and a round clear resin disc studded with gold domes hangs inside the hoop. About 7cm long from the top of the stud. Care: put them on after perfume and hairspray, keep them dry, and store them flat on the card they arrive on.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
Orange Button Hoop Earrings, Amber Drop, Handmade
A handmade earring built on an orange button, with a large gold tone hoop below it and a faceted amber drop hanging inside the hoop. These earrings belong to EHC, The Earring That Heard The Conversation. The buttons once held clothes together and now sit by the ear, listening in. That is the whole idea of the piece, something ordinary moved to where it can be noticed. This is the one to pick if you want size. The hoop is wide enough to sit clear of the jaw and the amber drop swings inside it as you move, so the earring keeps catching the light instead of hanging still. Orange and gold against plain black or white is the easiest way to wear it. About 7cm long including the hoop. Made by hand in Ibadan, Nigeria. Keep it away from perfume and water, and store it flat.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
Kenyan Cowrie Shell Brass Cuff and Bypass Ring Set
A two piece brass jewellery set from Kenya: a multi band open cuff and a matching bypass ring, each holding a natural cowrie shell and a cast brass one. What sets it apart is that pairing. On the cuff a real cowrie sits in a twisted rope bezel beside a cowrie cast in solid brass, so the same shell appears twice, once as the sea made it and once in metal. The ring carries the idea on to the hand, the two shells passing each other on an open band. If the rest of your jewellery is plain metal, this is the piece that brings in texture without bringing in colour. Cowrie shells were money across much of Africa for centuries and still stand for wealth and good fortune. The East African coast has its own cowrie, so on a Kenyan piece these are shells from home waters rather than a borrowed symbol. Polished brass with natural cowrie shells, hand worked and hand finished, so the bands carry faint hammer marks and no two sets come out identical. The cuff is about 5 to 6.4cm deep with an inner diameter of about 5.7 to 6.4cm, open at the back so it eases on and adjusts to the wrist. The ring is an open band that adjusts to the finger. Brass darkens as it is worn. A soft cloth and a little brass polish bring the shine back. Keep it away from perfume and water, and store it dry.
£55.00Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Green Maasai Beaded Necklace, Bracelets & Earrings Set
A five piece Maasai beaded set in bright green, banded with yellow, white, red and blue against black and finished in gold tone. Necklace, bracelets and earrings. Includes one multi strand collar necklace, three matching bracelets and one pair of drop earrings. Green is the colour almost nobody makes beaded jewellery in, and that is the reason to buy this one. Red, black and white sets are everywhere. A saturated grass green is not, so this reads as a specific choice rather than a default. It is also the fullest piece of Maasai colour work in the range. The green is broken by black sawtooth points, and inside them run bands of yellow, white, red and blue, each one separated again by black. That is the whole palette rather than an accent or two, which is why the set carries an outfit on its own. It wants a plain ground to sit against: white, cream, black, denim, or traditional dress cut in a single colour. Put it over another print and the two fight. The necklace is worked in multiple beaded strands and fastens at the back with a gold tone clasp and a short extender chain, so you can set it high on the collarbone or let it drop. The bracelets and earrings carry the same beads in the same colour order, which is what makes five separate pieces read as one set. Wear the necklace with a single bracelet for everyday, or all five pieces when you want the full effect. Strung and bound by hand in Kiambu. The sawtooth points are counted out bead by bead rather than measured, so their spacing shifts a little from set to set and from the photographs. Care: keep away from perfume, lotion and water, all of which dull the beads and weaken the cord. Store the necklace flat or hanging rather than folded into a box so the strands do not tangle, and wipe with a dry soft cloth after wearing.
£40.00£45.00Sold by GLOBAL HANDMADE • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
African Brass Cowrie Shell Cuff Bracelet, Adjustable
A handmade brass cuff with a wide hammered disc at its centre and a single natural cowrie shell bound on with fine brass wire. The back is open, so it slips over the wrist and adjusts. Most cowrie jewellery threads a row of small shells onto cord. This sets one whole shell on a hammered brass disc, so the shell reads as a single deliberate focal point rather than a holiday souvenir, and the piece carries an outfit on its own without a second bracelet next to it. The frame is one length of round brass bent into a long teardrop, with the disc fixed where the two ends meet, about 3 inches across by the maker's own measure. The maker also describes the brass as recycled. There is no clasp and no sizing to choose: squeeze the opening gently to close the fit, or ease it wider. Brass darkens as it is worn. Bring the shine back with a soft cloth and keep it dry.
£35.00Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Red Button and Strawberry Drop Earrings, Handmade
A handmade drop earring built on a bright red button, with a red and white spotted strawberry and a green leafy top hanging below it. These earrings belong to EHC, The Earring That Heard The Conversation. The buttons once held clothes together and now sit by the ear, listening in. That is the whole idea of the piece, something ordinary moved to where it can be noticed. This is the playful one. The strawberry is small and solid rather than dainty, so it reads across a room, and the red button repeats the fruit instead of competing with it. It suits denim and plain summer clothes, and it is short enough to wear all day without pulling. About 5cm long. Made by hand in Ibadan, Nigeria. Keep it away from perfume and water, and store it flat.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Wooden Button Studs, Pink, Yellow or Animal Print
Flat wooden button stud earrings with two stitch holes, sold as one pair in pink, yellow or a natural animal print. These are the flattest earrings in the collection. The buttons have no raised rim, so they lie almost level against the ear, which makes them the pair to reach for when you want the width of a statement stud without anything standing proud of your face. The animal print pair is the one that goes with everything, because it is a wood tone first and a pattern second. They are cut from wood, so the grain shows at the cut edge and no two faces take the paint quite the same way. The markings on the natural pair are irregular rather than machine even, so the two earrings in that pair are close but not identical. The post is fixed to the back of the button, so nothing shows from the front. Keep them dry. Wood and water do not agree, so take them off before washing your face.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Blue Jelly Button Necklace and Stud Earring Set
A two piece set in blue: a large four hole button pendant on a fine waxed cord necklace, with a pair of small translucent jelly button studs to wear alongside it. This is the see through version of the maker's button jewellery. The studs are translucent and pick up whatever you are wearing behind them, while the pendant button is solid and opaque, so the two pieces sit together without reading as a matched gift box set. It is also the only set in this run that gives you a necklace and earrings rather than earrings alone. The pendant hangs from a gold tone ring through one edge of the button, so it sits slightly off centre and swings. The cord fastens with a lobster clasp and carries an extender chain, so it can be worn close at the throat or dropped lower. The second photograph shows the necklace laid out flat with a stud beside it. Keep the cord dry and take the set off before swimming.
£4.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Pink Button and Cactus Charm Drop Earrings, Handmade
Drop earrings made from a large pink four hole button, with a small pink heart and a green cactus charm hanging below it on a silver tone ring. This is the only pair in the collection that moves. Everything else in the EHC line sits flat against the ear, so if you want the maker's idea with some swing in it, this is the pair. It is also the most openly funny one, which matters if you are buying it as a small gift rather than for yourself. The button is a proper coat button with all four stitch holes showing, and the charm hangs from a jump ring through its bottom edge, so the cactus turns and catches the light as you move. The post is fixed to the back of the button. Keep them dry and store them flat so the charm does not tangle.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Wooden Button and Stone Stud Earrings, Yellow or Pink
Stud earrings made from small dished wooden buttons with a faceted stone set into the well of each one, sold as one pair in yellow or pink. The setting is what separates these from the plain button studs in the same collection. The button is deep enough to hold the stone the way a ring holds one, so the finished earring reads as a small vintage brooch rather than as a button with a gem stuck on the front. The buttons are hand painted and the finish is glossy, so both the yellow and the pink sit closer to a sweet shop colour than to a wood tone. The stone sits down in the hollow rather than proud of the face, so there is nothing to catch on a scarf. The post is fixed to the back of the button, so nothing shows from the front. Keep them dry. Wood and water do not agree, so take them off before washing your face.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Crystal Button Stud Earrings, Pink, Green, Baby Pink
Faceted crystal effect button stud earrings on clear plastic posts, sold as one pair in fuchsia pink, teal green or baby pink. From a step away these read as cut stones. Up close you can see they are buttons, and that gap between the two is the whole idea of the collection. Every other pair in the line has a flat or painted face, so if you want the maker's joke in a version that catches the light, this is the one to pick. The faces are moulded with real facets rather than printed to look faceted, so they throw light the way glass does. The posts and butterfly backs are clear plastic rather than metal. The second photograph shows all six loose, including one turned over, which is the best look at the fitting and at the true size. Wipe with a dry cloth and keep them out of hot water.
£4.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
EHC Yellow Button Necklace and Stud Earring Set
A two piece set in pale yellow: a button pendant ringed with small pearl beads on a waxed cord necklace, and a pair of small translucent amber stud earrings to wear with it. It is a set, at the price most shops charge for one earring, and that is the argument. The pieces are deliberately not matched too tightly: the pendant is opaque and solid, the studs are see through and catch the light, so wearing both does not read as a matching set from a gift box. EHC stands for the earring that heard the conversation, which is the maker's idea for the whole line: a button spends its working life holding clothes together, and here it is moved up to the ear and the collarbone, where it listens instead. The necklace fastens with a lobster clasp and has an extender chain, so it can be worn tight at the throat or dropped lower. The pearl beads are set into the face of the button rather than strung around it, so nothing catches on a collar. Keep the cord dry and take the set off before swimming.
£4.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
Fuchsia Button and Rose Drop Earrings, Handmade
A handmade drop earring built on a fuchsia pink button, with a pale pink rose and small green leaves hanging below it on gold tone wire. These earrings belong to EHC, The Earring That Heard The Conversation. The buttons once held clothes together and now sit by the ear, listening in. That is the whole idea of the piece, something ordinary moved to where it can be noticed. If you want a piece that reads as flowers first and jewellery second, this is the one to pick. The roses are translucent, so they catch the light rather than block it, and the green leaves keep the pink from going sugary. Wear it against a plain colour and let it be the only thing going on. About 6.5cm long. Made by hand in Ibadan, Nigeria. Keep it away from perfume and water, and store it flat.
£5.00Sold by LEŌN & CISCA • Ibadan
Fashion Accessories
Royal Blue Beaded and Brass Multi Wire Cuff Set
A pair of wide wrist cuffs, one in plain brass toned wire and one threaded with royal blue glass beads, each built from many wires bound together at both ends. Worn together they read as one deep band of gold and blue across the wrist, which is what the first photograph shows. Worn apart, the plain half goes with anything and the beaded half carries the colour, so the set does two jobs rather than one. If the rest of your jewellery is plain metal, this is the piece that adds the colour. Look at the second photograph for the construction. Each cuff is a run of parallel wires gathered at both ends and wrapped, with a loop terminal at each corner, so it holds its shape and slips over the wrist rather than fastening. On the blue half the beads are threaded along each wire one wire at a time, which is the slow part of the work. Made from brass finished jewellery wire and glass seed beads. The maker gives an inner diameter of 5 to 5.2 inches, a standard slip on fit. Keep away from water and perfume, and store it flat.
£50.00Sold by NICKÉ JEWELRY • Kenya
Fashion Accessories
Amani Beaded Flower Earrings, Kenya Flag Colours, 4cm
Round beaded flower earrings from Kenya, about 4cm across, worked bead by bead in the black, red, green and white of the flag around a faceted silver centre. Amani is the Swahili word for peace, and the shop is called Mulembe beads, which is the same word in Lubukusu. The maker calls the design peony inspired: green arcs curl out from the centre stone like petals on a white ground, with red arcs around them and a ring of black beads holding the edge. These are the boldest of the flag pieces in this shop. The face is solid rather than open, so the colours read from across a room, and at about 4cm across they are a statement pair that sits best against a plain top. If you would rather the colours were quieter, the Infinity Knot pair from the same maker sets them into a knot shape, and the star shaped Beaded Flower pair is open lacework you can see through. The beads are the small glass seed beads sold across Kenya as Maasai beads, which is the maker's own term for them. The green ones are translucent and the white and black are opaque, so the pattern shifts as the light moves, and the centre stone sits in a ring of gold tone beads. They hang from plain silver tone hooks. Keep them dry, put them on after perfume or lotion, and store them flat.
£8.00£9.00Sold by Mulembe beads • Kenya
Buying guide
A short guide to African jewellery
The jewellery here comes from distinct traditions rather than one generic style. Maasai beadwork from Kenya builds colour and pattern outward from a centre bead, and colour carries meaning in it. Brass cuffs and rings are hammered and shaped by hand. Cowrie shells, once currency across large parts of West Africa, still stand for wealth and protection, and turn up on cuffs, necklaces and waist beads.
Much of it is sold as a set: necklace, bracelets and earrings beaded in the same pattern. Sets are the better value and the easier gift, since nothing has to be matched afterwards. Single statement pieces, a brass cuff or a cowrie pendant, work harder if you already own jewellery you want to build around.
Beadwork is hand-strung, so tiny variations in bead placement are a sign of handwork rather than a defect. Brass darkens over time; a gentle polish brings it back if you prefer it bright, and many people prefer the patina.
Common questions
About buying jewelry on Sokofa
Where can I buy authentic African jewellery online in the UK?
Sokofa (sokofa.com) sells handmade African jewellery from verified artisans, much of it Maasai beadwork and brass from Kenya. Each listing names the maker, orders ship worldwide including across the UK, and the delivery cost for your address is shown at checkout before you pay.
What do the colours in Maasai beadwork mean?
Meanings vary between communities, but common readings are red for bravery and unity, blue for the sky and water, green for the land, white for peace and purity, and black for the people and the struggles they share. A piece usually combines several rather than carrying one message.
What do cowrie shells symbolise?
Cowries were used as currency across large parts of West Africa for centuries, and they still stand for wealth, prosperity and protection. That history is why a single cowrie set on a cuff or pendant reads as more than decoration.
How do I look after beaded jewellery and brass?
Keep beadwork away from perfume and lotion, which dull the beads and weaken the thread, and store it flat rather than tangled. Brass naturally darkens with wear; polish it gently with a soft cloth if you want the original shine back.