Romania is a south eastern European country known for the forested region of Transylvania, ringed by the Carpathian Mountains. Its preserved medieval towns include Sighişoara, and there are many fortified churches and castles, notably clifftop Bran Castle, long associated with the Dracula legend. Bucharest, the country’s capital, is the site of the gigantic, Communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building.

Authentic, Natural and Cultural are the words that best capture the essence of Romania, a dynamic country rich in history, arts and scenic beauty.

Keen on rustic stuff, Romanians carefully preserve their traditional craftsmanship.

Romanian women have a long-standing tradition of highlighting their natural beauty. They don’t do this in a showy manner, but rather in a discrete and seductive way. Silence, sometimes, speaks volumes and so does traditional Romanian jewellery.

Although not made from expensive and hard-to-find materials, the traditional bead necklaces (“zgardan” in Romanian) of peasant women are striking in their simplicity, elegance and fine taste. Women used to make zgardan’s to adorn themselves for special occasions, such as weddings, christenings or anniversaries. The beads are usually sown on a thin strips of cloth; the elaborate patterns oftentimes demand a great deal of time and patience to make, but the end result is always rewarding.

This reminds me of the high quality craftsmanship that goes into each and every piece of Ariki New Zealand Jewellery and the people of Romania obviously appreciate this fact too as our product proves extremely popular in this dynamic country.

GP812   Paua World Globe Pendant

The elegant simplicity of our World Globe pendant is most definitely outstanding. Our designers have created it to symbolise our place on the globe – from vast oceans – to snow-capped mountain ranges and deserts our planet earth has it all.

The myriad of colours on the perfectly round Paua Shell Cabochon to me seem to be a view of our earth’s globe as would be seen from outer space and I am sure you will agree.

Whomever purchases this precious unique piece of New Zealand Jewellery may wear it to honour their very own special unique place in the world.