The new collection, "Endangered," unveiled today, uses unusual materials that are trade restricted by the CITES.
That is a sperm whale's tooth.
In the past, many processed products were made in Japan, but due to restrictions imposed by the CITES, it is now difficult to encounter whale tooth jewelry. We believe that Jewellery Wanderlust is the only brand that handles whale tooth jewelry.
This time, I would like to start by writing about how I first came across whale tooth as a material and why I decided to use it to make jewellery.
I often visit antique markets because I love old things that have a sense of history and I can get inspiration for my jewelry designs.
Whether indoors or outdoors, antique markets usually have items laid out (sometimes messily) on tables and there's no pretense; you're free to wander around browsing the goods.
As I was walking between the various stores that were displaying various "junk" as usual, I came across a store that had a lot of small accessories and small items. I can't help but stop when I see old accessories and jewellery, so I decided to take a closer look there as well.
On a table piled high with silver and gold-plated costume jewellery, there is a random, unfamiliar object placed in a jumble: a carving of a rose.
At first glance, I thought, "It's probably a buffalo bone or horn, or at best, ivory." As I was thinking about this while picking it up, the store owner told me, "It's a sperm whale tooth."
The owner was very interested and taught me a lot of things.
"Look, the patterns are different."
Ivory has stripes, but it definitely looks different.
"Whale teeth are even harder than ivory, so they're hard to carve."
I had always wanted to have a whale tooth carving as a collector's item, but I never expected to come across one that was so intricate and large enough to be used as jewelry. In the end, I decided that if I missed this opportunity, I would never come across another one, so I carefully examined what was there and purchased several.
Now, here comes the difficult part.
"I bought it, but what on earth can I use it for? It will probably just end up in my collection..." I thought for a moment, but then I had an idea: "Wouldn't it be pretty if I combined it with other jewels and made it into earrings?"
Once that was decided, we first sent it for identification. However, the identification facility we usually use cannot handle whale teeth, so the result was "cannot be identified." In the end, we received help from people who specialize in whale teeth.
Whale teeth were probably closer to white decades ago, but now they are a rich cream color. I tried combining them with various colors of gemstones I had on hand to see what would make a nice piece of jewelry. However, this was more difficult than I expected. Depending on the color I combined it with, the cream color could look "yellowing." Through trial and error, I found that the beauty of the whale teeth was best accentuated by pearls of the same soft color.
Then, when I looked at the finished earrings and thought about starting to sell them, a question suddenly came to mind.
"Hey, can I sell them?"
I realised at the very end what I should have thought about first. I have a bad habit of buying materials that I think are interesting without thinking about the consequences.
Even though export is not possible due to the CITES, are there any restrictions on domestic sales? Incidentally, ivory requires a license to be sold.
In the end, we contacted the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment to confirm the sale.
The Endangered Collection was finally released after many twists and turns. We hope that many people will be able to see the material, lost whale teeth, and the craftsmanship that goes into beautiful carvings on them.