BIRTÚD earrings. Photographed by Karl King Aguña and styled by Carlos Mangubat
Jewelry here has always been more than adornment. It was identity, ritual, and declaration, fluid between the ancestral and the contemporary.
In the Philippines, the history of jewelry is carved in gold. Long before colonization, our ancestors mastered the art of metalwork, hammering bangles, casting barter rings, and shaping lingling-o pendants in green nephrite and gold. These were not simply ornaments but vessels of power and protection, linked to ancestry, cosmology, and status. The Surigao Treasure, hundreds of pre-Hispanic pieces unearthed in Mindanao, attests to this mastery, reminding us that adornment has always been both ritual and declaration.
This story reimagines that legacy for today. At its heart is birtúd, a contemporary Filipino brand whose sculptural earrings and necklaces recall protective amulets, rendered with raw modernity. Their pieces feel timeless, like relics unearthed from the past and carried into the present. Alongside them, Constantina Vintage revives the patina of heirloom treasures; Alan Crocetti, based in London, bridges European craft and postmodern edge; and Yoshi Boshi creates experimental ear cuffs that sit like fragments of rediscovered gold. Each designer, distinct in geography and sensibility, enters a shared dialogue that mirrors the Philippines’ own history of exchange, where metals, shells, and motifs once moved fluidly across islands and oceans.
The sea, the nation’s first trade route and enduring lifeline, lingers here as both motif and memory. Shells once served as currency, Chinese porcelain crossed the galleons, and gold flowed to neighboring kingdoms. In this narrative, jewelry feels like treasure gathered from the shoreline; talismans of continuity, protection, and transformation.
Photography by KING KARL AGUÑA. Styling by CARLOS MANGUBAT. Hair: Mong Amado. Models: Ruzzian and Angel. Introduction: Lawrence Alba.
